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ros  \  v«-v, 


THE  GREAT  SEAL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


II. 


ITS 
SIGNIFICATION  TO  MANASSEH 


THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

VOLUME    II. 


OUR    INHERITANCE 

IN 

THE  GREAT  SEAL 

OF 

"MANASSEH," 

THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

ITS 

HISTORY    AND    HERALDRY; 

AND   ITS 

SIGNIFICATION 

UNTO 

"THE    GREAT   PEOPLE" 

THUS   SEALED. 


BY 

CHARLES  A.   L.   TOTTEN. 

Thou  hast  ordered  all  things  in  measure,  in  number,  and     weight." — Wisdom  xi    20. 


NEW    HAVEN,    CONN.  : 

THE  OUR  RACE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 

1897. 


. 


Copyrighted  1882  and  1883  A.D.  : 

REVISED  1896  AND  1897; 

Re-copyrighted  1897, 

BV 

CHARLES   A.  L.  TOTTEN. 
(All  rights  reserved.) 


SfacR 

Annc\ 

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v,?- 

if 


"  BECAUSE 

THE  DAUGHTERS  OF  MANASSEH, 

HAD  AN  INHERITANCE  AMONG  His  SONS," 

THIS  PARTICULAR  VOLUME 

Is  DEDICATED  TO 
THE  DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 

THE  SIGNIFICATION  OF 

THE  GREAT  SEAL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

SHOULD  BE  OF  SPECIAL  IMPORT 

UNTO  THEM 

AND  HE  SURE  OF  BEING  TAUGHT 

UNTO  FUTURE  AMERICAN  GENERATIONS 

FROM  THEIR  BIRTH. 

**** 

**** 
**** 


"  Behold  her  o'er  her  loyal  nest  now  spread  abroad  her 

wings, 

As  Liberty  oer  East  and  West  abroad  her  banner  flings. 
Behold  her  now  upon  them  bear,  her  eaglets  to  the  wind, 
As  if  'twere  mother  country  s  care,  uplifting  all  mankind. 
Behold  her  now  soar  all  abroad,  o'er  furrowed  land  and 

sea, — 
A  mighty  Empire  overawed,  for  Bird  of  Jove  is  she  !  " 


STUDY  No.  19 


THE  OUR  RACE  SERIES. 


The  Seal  of  History. 


TOTTECN. 


"  N(nv  are  our  brcnvs  crowned  with  victorious  wreathe '.?, 
Our  bruised  Anns  hung  up  for  monuments." 

Rich.  Ill ,  Act  /,  See.  i. 

''  And  none  [not  one\  of  them  is  without  signification" 

J.  Cor.  xh>.  10. 


STUDY  NUMBER  NINETEEN. 

THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY: 

(MANASSEH'S) 
Its  Signification. 

ANALYTICAL  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

FRONTISPIECE, ii 

TITLE iii 

DEDICATION, v 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS, ix-x 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS, xi-xii 

PREFACE, xiii 

INTRODUCTION,                                                                                                   .  xv-xviii 


SEALS  IN  GENERAL,  3 

OUR  HERALDIC  TINCTURES,  15 

PAGE. 

THE  METALS,     .         .       16     THE  PLANETS,  .         .  24 

CORRECT  TINCTURES,     .       17     THE  FLOWERS,  .         .  24 

THE  COLORS,      .         .       18        UNITED  IMPORT,    .         .  25 

THE  GEMS,  .        .        .       19        THE  SEVEN  TINCTURES,  28 

THIRTEEN  BLESSINGS,    .       23             AND  CORRESPONDENCES,  28 


THE  GREAT  SEAL.  29 

THE  OBVERSE  FACE.  37 

THE  ARMS.  45 

PAQK. 

THE  EAGLE,         .         .       53     NATIONAL  MOTTO,  118 

THE  FIELD,  ...       80        MOGRAPHY,       ARITHMO- 

THE  ESCUTCHEON,         81              GRAPHY,         .         .  129 

THE  NUMBER  13,  .         ,       92     THE  OLIVE  BRANCH,  149 

THE  SCROLL,  .         .         106        OUR  NATIONAL  FLOWER,  165 
BUNDLE  OF  ARROWS,  168 
THE  NATIONAL  MACE,        174 

THE  ARMS  AS  A  WHOLE,  175 


x  CONTENTS. 

PAGB. 

THE  CREST,  179 

PA6K. 

THE  GLORY,         .         .     193     THE  CLOUD,  .         .     199 

THE  CONSTELLATION,         ,  .         .     202 

THE  CREST  AS  A  WHOLE,  213 


THE  OBVERSE  FACE  AS  A  WHOLE,    219 

Irs  NUMERICAL  BALANCE,     224    THE  NATIONAL  NUMBER,     239 

WONDERFUL  APPEARANCES  AND  OMENS,  245 


THE  REVERSE  FACE,  255 

THE  CIRCUMMETRIC  CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  REVERSE  FACE,  262 

THE  UNFINISHED  PYRAMID,  269 

PACK. 

ARGUMENT  CONDENSED,         291     PROPOSITIONS  PROVED,     .  294 

PYRAMID  MEASUREMENTS,     292     THE  SEARLES  DIAGRAM,  .  29  . 

THE  TRUE  MASTABA,        .       305 

THE  REVERSE  CREST,  307 

THE  EYE,  TRIANGLE  AND  GLORY,  307    THE  CAPSTONE,    .  324 

ANNUIT  CCEPTIS,  327 

MDCCLXXVI,  337 

NOVUS  ORDO  SECLORUM,  343 

THE  SIBYLLINE  BOOKS,  344 

THE  REVERSE  FACE  AS  A  WHOLE,  363 

THE  SEAL  AS  A  WHOLE,  367 


OUR  RACE. 
EDITORIALS, 373 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


XI 


PAGE 

KKONTISPIECE,  (4  illuminations),  ii. 
JOSEPH'S  DOUBLE  CROSS,  .  .  xii 
AN  EAKLY  SEAL,  ....  7 
DEBALLIOL'S  SEAL,  ...  8 
THE  PKESENT  DIE  (1885),  .  .  38 
A  DOUBLE  SEAL,  .  .  .  .40 
SKA  i.  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  .  .  41 
A i: MS  OP  GREAT  BRITAIN,  .  .  49 
THE  RUSSIAN  EAGLE,  .  .  .54 
Tin-:  .KGIS  OF  AMERICA,  .  .  55 
THK  MEXICAN  QUARTER  (Head),  5~ 
(Tail),  57 

THE  BALD-HEADED  EAGLE,  .  .  71 
WASHINGTON'S  SEAL,  .  .  .83 
FLAG  OF  THE  LIFE  GUARD,  .  .  83 
THE  SELF-RELIANT  EAGLE,  .  .  83 
r.siTKD  STATES  BAR  CENT  (Head),  84 

(Tail).    84 

MARYLAND  SILVER  COIN  (Head),     85 
"     (Tail),       85 

THREE-CENT  PIECE  (Head),  .        .    85 

"     (Tail),    .        .    85 

THE  EARLY  SEAL,  ....    86 

CONSTRUCTION  OF  SHIELD,    .        .    88 

Kl.E.MKNTS  OF  THE  ESCUTCHEON,  .     96 

KI.KMENTS  OF  OBLONG        "          .    96 

As  ANCIENT  SCROLL,     .        .        .  110 

A  CASE  OF  SCROLLS,       .        .        .111 

JEFFERSON'S  DESIGN,    .        .        .  118 

A  COLONIAL  MOTTO,       .        .        .  119 

MOTTO  GENTLEMAN'S  MAGAZINE,  122 

THE  DOUBLE  153,         .        .        .139 

THE  MKTICS  RATIO,       .        .        .140 

THE  OLEA  EUROPIKA  Twit;,  .         .  150 

GROWTH,     .  150 

STAMENS    .  150 

STIGMA,      .  150 

DRUPE,       .  150 

INSIGNIA  OF  COLONEL,  U.  S.  A.,  .  162 
< >uu  NATIONAL  FLOWER,  .  .  166 
THE  BUNDLE  OF  ARROWS,  .  .  169 
AN  ANCIENT  EMBLEM,  .  .  .181 
THE  PRESIDENT'S  SEAL  (Cont.),  .  184 
THE  SIX-POINTED  CREST,  .  .  186 
THE  CIRCULAR  CREST,  .  .  .187 
A  ! 'I:\TALPHATE  CREST.  .  .  187 


THE  PANSY  CREST,  . 
A  PENTALPHATE  CREST, 
A  PENTALPHATE  CREST, 
A  PENTALPHATE  CREST, 


PAGE 
.188 

.188 
.  188 
.  188 


EYE,  TRIANGLE,  GLORY  CREST,  .  189 
STAR  OF  BETHLEHEM  CREST.  .  189 
THE  UNION  JACK  CREST,  .  .  190 
THE  CROSS  OF  JOSEPH,  .  .  .  190 
THE  ALTAR  CREST,  .  .  .190 
EAGLE-FORMED  CREST,  .  .  .190 
A  SCATTERED  CREST,  .  .  .  190 
A  PILE  OF  13+1  .....  191 
THE  TT-TRIANGLE  CREST,  .  .  192 
THE  GLORY  OF  THE  SUN,  .  .  193 
THE  BLAZING  STAR,  .  .  .202 
SOLOMON'S  STAR,  ....  204 
THE  PENTAI.PHA  AND  HUMAN 

FIGURE  ......  210 

THE  PYRAMID  AND  HUMAN 

FIGURE  ......  210 

THE  STAR  OF  MIZRAIM,         .        .  210 

THE  HARMONIOUS  CREST,      .        .  214 

UNBALANCED  HERALDRY,     .  225 

.225 

"  225 

BALANCED  IN  POTENCE  (by  fivei,    ~>^ti 
ANCIENT  MEXICAN  Com,      .       .  229 
THE  MANIPULUS,    ....  230 

ANCIENT  MEXICAN  COIN.  ,   .       .  230 
A  CRUCIAL  TEST  .....  231 

SHIELD  AND  PENTALPHA,      .        .  232 

BALANCE  IN  Six  ELEMENTS,         .  232 

"         "    SEVEN       "       .       .233 

"    EIGHT        "        .        .  233 

EIGHT  ROMAN  STANDARDS,  .        .  234 

THE  FRUITFUL  OLIVE  BRANCH,    .  235 

BALANCED  IN  NINE  ELEMENTS,    .  236 

LIBERTY  TREE  FLAG,     .        .        .  236 

DON'T-TREAD-ON-ME  FLAG,  .        .  236 

BALANCED  IN  ELEVEN  ELEMENTS,  237 

"   THIRTEEN    "      (1),  238 

"      (2),  238 

"      (3),  238 

A  ROMAN  STANDARD  (13's),  .  .  241 
THE  BONNIE  BLUE  FLAG,  .  .  241 
JOHNSTON'S  FLAG,  ....  241 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


CONFEDERATE  BATTLE  FLAG, 

CONFEDERATE  FLAG, 

THIRTEEN  A  SQUARE  NUMBER, 
"          "  SPHERICAL      " 
"          "  CO-ORDINATE  " 
"          "  CUBICAL          " 

THE       TRANSPLANTED        OLIVE 
BRANCH,  .        .  248 


PAGE 
.  241 
.  241 
.  242 
.  243 
.  243 
.  243 


THE  UNFINISHED  PYRAMID, 
A  GOLDEN  CANDLESTICK, 
THE  13-sTRiNGED  HARP, 
A  UNION  DEVICE,   . 
BARRY  OF  THE  LIGHT  HOR*E. 
A  REVERSE  DESIGN  (Latimer), 


248 


251 
259 
259 


THE  REVERSE  OUTLINES,  .  .  263 
THE  REVERSE  FACE,  .  .  .  265 
AN  ALTAR  TO  JEHOVAH,  .  .  268 
THE  GREAT  PYRAMID,  .  .  .  272 
A  RIDDLE  SOLVED,  .  .  .  276 
A  GEOGRAPHICAL  BENCH-MARK,  .  278 

A  HOROSCOPE 280 

VERTICAL  SECTION,  GT.  PYR  ,  .  282 
DIAGONAL  .  282 

EQUALITY  OF  BOUNDARIES,   GT. 

PYRAMID 282 

TT-ANGLES,    CASING   STONE,    GT. 

PYRAMID, 282 

EQUALITY  OF  AREAS,  GT.  PYR.  (1),  282 
"    (2),  282 

(3)1,283 

(3)2,  283 

"  (3)3,  283 


PAGE 

EQUATION  OF  BOUNDARIES,  AREAS,283 

HORZ.  SEC.  GT.  PYRAMID,    Plate,  285 

VERT.    "    Go.  GAL.,  SOUTH,     "     285 

"     "        "    NORTH,      "     285 

THE  Boss  ON  GRANITE  LEAP,   "     285 

SIDES  OF  ANTI-CHAMBER,  '     285 

VERT.  SEC.  GT.  PYRAMID,          '     285 

"         "  KG'SCHAMB.,  WEST,"     285 

"    "         "       NORTH,  "     285 

"  QU'N'S"        WEST,  "     285 

"      "      NORTH,  "     285 

' EAST,  "     285 

THE  COFFER,  ELEVATION,          "     285 

PLAN,    .        .       "285 

"    KING'S  CHAMBER,  PLAN,  "     285 

THE  SEAKLES  DIAGRAM,        .        .296 

THE  TRUE  MASTABA,     .        .        .805 

KOSCIUSKO'S  BANNER,    .        .        .  308 

THE  CAP-STONE 310 

THE  RADIANT  TRIANGLE,      .        .311 

THE  SACRED  NAME,       .        .        .312 

ANCIENT  MEXICAN  COIN  (Face),  313 

(End),  313 

A  MASONIC  JEWEL,  .  .  .  313 
THE  SIGNET  OF  TRUTH,  .  .  313 
A  MASONIC  EMBLEM,  .  .  .  314 
THE  BREAST-PLATE  (Front),  .  314 
(Rear),  .314 

THE  TEMPLATE  OF  THE  CREST,  .317 
THE  ANTITYPICAL  CAP-STONE,  .  324 
A  DEVICE,  CONTINENTAL  MONEY,  332 
BILL.  .  333 
THE  MYSTIC  TRIANGLE,  .  .  340 


S  R 


AEL 


The  natural  preface  to  this  Study  is  its  preceding- 
Volume  in  which  we  related  the  facts  in  chronologi- 
co-historical  order  that  are  now  to  be  interpreted. 
Without  an  interpretation  of  the  fullest  character  the 
symbolism  is  in  vain:  hence  the  necessity  of  this 
Volume. 

Our  ancestors  chose  emblems  that  were  of  natural 
and  immediate  Signification  to  them :  nevertheless, 
they  labored  to  evolve  such  a  system  of  symbology  as 
should  be  appropriate  to  the  substance  of  their  hopes 
—  to  wit,  to  their  posterity. 

Thus  the  Inheritance  comes  down  to  US  for  verifi- 
cation, and  it  is  our  duty  quite  as  much  as  our  pleasant 
task  in  this  present  Study  to  produce  sufficient  evi- 
dence to  show  not  only  that  they  wrought  well  and 
wisely,  but  perchance  wiser  than  they  knew. 

They  had  the  spirit  of  well  founded  hope  rather 
than  that  of  prophecy,  and  by  virtue  of  fulfillment  we 
ourselves  should  be  begotten  by  the  spirit  of  con- 
viction rather  than  by  that  of  mere  faith — for  behold, 
the  interpretation  is  a  fulfillment  of  their  hopes,  and 
other  patent  facts  are  our  evidence  that  these  hopes 
were  founded  upon  earlier  facts,  and  therefore  pro- 
phetic after  all. 

JUNE  i,  1897. 


"Beginning  with  the  Colonies  and  coming  down  to  our 
own  time,  in  its  sacred  heraldry,  in  its  glorious  insignia,  it 
has  gathered  and  stored  chiefly  this  Supreme  idea:  DIVINE 
RIGHT  OF  LIBERTY  IN  EVERY  MAN.  Every  color  means 
liberty,  every  emblem  means  liberty. " 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States  of  America  is 
as  consummate  a  piece  of  Armorie  as  any  blazonry 
that  has  ever  been  displayed  among  the  nations.  All 
of  its  elements  are  homogeneous  and,  when  conceived 
and  realized  correctly,  their  natural  harmony  is  quite 
above  any  adverse  criticism,  whether  it  be  taken  from 
an  artistic  or  an  heraldic  point  of  view.  In  the  mean 
time,  its  perfect  balance  and  comprehensive  symbol- 
ogy  are  so  natural  as  to  unite  the  exoteric  and  eso- 
teric things  involved  into  a  perfect  concert  of  Signifi- 
cance adapted  to  all  degrees  of  appreciation.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  is  such  a  compendium  of  truth,  and 
so  inexhaustible  a  teacher  along  all  fundamental 
lines,  that  to  some  extent  it  is  always  understood  at 
sight. 

We  merely  anticipate  the  assent  of  our  readers  to 
these  averments,  and  furthermore,  are  satisfied  that 
they  will  rise  from  the  investigation  to  which  we  now 
invite  their  attention  as  fully  convinced  as  we  our- 
selves are  that  this  Instrument  which  we  have  inher- 
ited from  our  ancestors  is  quite  as  remarkable  from 
every  point  of  view  as  if  it  actually  purported  to  have 
come  to  us  through  direct  Revelation  unto  them. 

In  other  words,  we  do  not  doubt  that  very  many, 
— that  indeed,  the  majority — of  our  companions  in 


XVI  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

this  Study  of  the  Significance  of  the  Great  Seal  will 
perceive  that  its  design  must  have  been  overruled, 
literally,  by  the  same  all-wise  Providence  to  whom 
our  fathers  uniformly  and  successfully  appealed,  and 
that  these  originators  were  literally  inspired  to  no 
small  a  degree — whether  they  knew  it  or  not ! 

Now  we  do  not  claim  that  they  were  conscious  of 
inspiration  as  such,  nor  yet  of  the  exercise  of  any 
extraordinary  genius  in  the  premises;  quite  the  con- 
trary, for  the  exploitation  of  the  Significance  of  the 
Instrument  in  the  light  of  their  own  meagre  interpre- 
tations thereof  proves  conclusively  that  they  wrought 
far  wiser  than  they  themselves  knew,  albeit,  without 
any  error  heraldic  or  otherwise  in  so  far  as  we  can 
discover  even  at  so  late  a  date  in  the  Victorian  Age 
as  this. 

But  after  all  there  are  no  accidents,  nor  leastwise 
could  the  insignia  of  such  a  land  as  this  and  of  so 
Great  a  People  as  Manasseh  have  been  suffered  to 
evolve  by  chance1 — America  is  the  "New  Order  of 
the  Ages,"  and  the  ideal  of  her  Great  Republic  (the 
first-born  of  a  New  World  and  the  Heir  of  the  West 
where  Empire  rests)  cannot  fail  to  have  been  a  prom- 
inent conception  in  the  mind  of  Deity  from  the  very 
Beginning  (Deut.  xxxii.  8-12;  Gen.  xlviii.  13-22). 

That  in  this  life  and  orb  there  is  nothing  left  to 
chance  is  a  fundamental  tenet  of  belief  with  the 
truly  wise;  hence  from  the  highest  peaks  whereon 
Wisdom  builds  her  eyrie,  and  from  whence  she  takes 
her  point  of  view,  all  things  below  resolve  themselves 
to  order,  and  all  else  above  aspires  unto  the  type 


INTRODUCTION.  xvu 

thereof  in  series  infinite — for  they  pass  beyond  even 
the  Eagle-glance  of  the  human  mind. 

To  Palmoni  only,  or  to  the  "  Mystic  Numberer  " 
himself  (Dan.  viii.  13),  there  is  no  limit;  for  of  his 
understanding  there  is  no  number  (Ps.  cxlvii.  5.): 
yet  hath  he  ordered  all  things  else  in  measure  and  in 
number  and  in  weight  (Wisdom  xi.  20).  He  created 
Wisdom  and  numbered  her  and  poured  her  upon  all 
His  works  (Reel.  i.  9)  double  (Job  xi.  6),  i.  <•.,  BAL- 
ANCED. 

Therefore,  it  hath  been  well  said  of  the  Cosmos 
that :  "  It  is  a  sphere  whose  center  is  everywhere  and 
whose  surface  is  nowhere, "  in  other  words,  its  emblem 
is  the  *?r-ratio  turning  everywhere,  the  flaming 
sword  (or  Word)  which  is  the  fundamental  element 
of  orderly  construction  or  creation,  and  it  keepeth 
the  way  of  life  (Gen.  iii.  24).  The  cherubim  that 
quarter  the  Cosmos  are  accompanied  by  wheels 
within  wheels,  and  the  spokes  thereof  are  like  unto 
reeds  measuring  the  radii  of  their  outward  progress. 

This  ratio  is  revealed  in  the  Tetragrammaton  or 
Mystic  Name  of  the  Deity,  punctuates  the  Scriptures, 
squares  the  circle  of  all  mundane  things,  and  is  nat- 
urally found  upon  Manasseh's  Heraldry,  for  the  latter 
is  a  glowing  type  of  the  Golden  Age,  whose  acme  is 
the  Millennium  itself.  But  enough — all  this  is  set 
forth  in  its  place,  so  we  desist. 

For  it  is  now  our  long  delayed  but  thereby  greatly 

*7t,  pronounced  Pi — the  mathematical  symbol  for  the  circum- 
metric  ratio,  i.  e.,  that  of  the  circumference  to  the  diameter  of  a 
circle,  ar  =  3. 14159  . 


XVlll  THE  SEAL  OP  HISTORY. 

enhanced  pleasure  to  present  an  outline  of  the  teach- 
ings of  this  Great  Seal  to  our  countrymen.  They  are 
now  familiar  with  the  facts  of  its  History  and  Her- 
aldry; its  Significance  is  the  Obverse  or  "Double" 
thereof — it  is  last  "in  order, "  that  it  may  be  first 
"in  import,"  for  the  mere  form  without  the  Spirit, 
was  imperfect  from  the  beginning. 

NEW  HAVEN,  CONN., 
JUNE  i,  1897. 


THE  GREAT  SEAL 


OF 


The  United  States  of  America, 


ITS 


SIGNIFICATION  FOR  MANASSEH. 


"  There  are,  it  may  be,  so  many  kinds  of  voices  in  the 
world,  and  none  of  them  is  without  signification  * 

"  Wherefore  let  him  that  speaketh  in  an  unknown  tongue 
pray  that  he  may  interpret.  *  *  * 

"  Yet  in  the  church  I  had  rather  speak  five  words  with 
my  understanding,  that  by  my  voice  I  might  teach  others 
iJs<?,  than  ten  thousand  words  in  an  unknown  tongue.'" 

i  Cor.  xiv.  10- iq ;  compare  whole  chapter 


SEALS  IN  GENERAL: 


"And  I  subscribed  the  evidence,  and  sealed  it,  and  took 
witnesses,  and  weighed  him  the  money  in  the  balances." — JKK. 
xxxii.  10. 

"  Of  the  Tribe  of  Manasseh  were  sealed  twelve  thousand." — 
REV.  vii.  6. 

The  significance  of  a  seal  in  law  is  that  it  implies  a 
deliberate  and  considered  act  on  the  part  of  him  who 
affixes  it.  "  Pliny  observes  (lib.  33,  cap.  i)  that  the 
use  of  seals  and  signets  was  yet  rare  at  the  time  of 
the  Trojan  war,  and  that  they  were  then  obliged  to 
shut  up  their  letters  with  several  knots.  But  among 
the  Hebrews  they  are  much  more  ancient.  Judah, 
the  son  of  Jacob,  left  his  seal  as  a  pledge  with  Tamar 
"whom  he  did  not  know."  We  are  told  in  II.  Tim- 
othy ii.  19,  that  "the  foundation  of  God  standeth 
sure  having  this  seal — THE  LORD  KNOWETH  THEM 
THAT  ARE  His."f  And  Job  says  (chap.  ix.  7)  that 
"God  *  *  *  sealeth  up  the  stars  "\ 

It  is  a  beautiful  thought  for  the  children  of  Ma- 
nasseh— that  this  All  Powerful  One,  who  knoweth 
his  children,  saw  fit  to  suffer  them,  in  the  day' when 

*See  Cruden's  Concordance,  Appleton's  Encyc.,  Brandt's 
Encyc.,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

f  Rom.  xii    3-5,  I.  Cor.  x.  17:  Ileb.  xi    8-12;  Eph.  ii.  19-22. 
iCovereth  them  with  clouds. 


4  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

he  prospered  their  undertakings,  to  take  from  under 
his  seal  "A  new  constellation  " — still  covered  with 
the  Cloud  of  his  protection,  and  led  by  the  Glory  of 
his  presence — to  be  their  crest  and  signet. 

The  Book  of  God's  decrees  and  purposes  relating 
to  his  people  was  sealed  with  seven  seals.*  This  was 
also  the  stone  laid  before  Joshua  (Zech.  iii.  9). 
"Upon  one  stone  shall  be  seven  eyes,"  or  heraldic 
colors  since  in  Hebrew  the  word  eye  is  employed 
as  a  term  for  colors  (see  Num.  xi.  7).  The  combi- 
nation of  this  perfect  number  of  colors  comprehend- 
ing all  the  primary  ones  is  white,  or  light  itself — and 
this  was  the  color  of  "the  terrible  crystal"  like  the 
firmament  above  that  became  the  cap-stone  of  "the 
great  mountain  (Ezek.  i.  22,  see  also  Isa.  xxviii.  16, 
Acts  iv.  1 1).  To  exhaust  each  single  topic  of  such  a 
subject  as  the  one  in  hand  would  require  the  space 
of  a  volume.  The  stone  of  Bethel  is  "the  signet  stone 
of  the  Almighty."  It  is  the  witness  of  God's  promise 
to  the  seed  of  Israel.  This  stone  is  now  the  "  Coro- 
nation Stone "  of  Great  Britain  (Ephraim)  and  is 
traced  back  to  Bethel — through  Scone,  Tara,  and 
Egypt,  whence  with  the  king's  daughter  (Tephi)  it 
was  borne  by  Jeremiah  with  the  remnant  of  Judah 
(see  Ezek.  chap,  xvii  and  the  whole  book  of  Jeremiah). 
The  common  people  of  London  have  called  it  "Ja- 
cob's Stone "  ever  since  it  was  brought  there  by 
Edward,  "the  Confessor."  And  none  else  than  this, 
is  what  it  is  (Gen.  xxviii.,  xxxv.),  see  numerous  books 
upon  the  "Identity  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  with  the 
*  Rev.  v.  i. 


SIGNIFICANCE  OF  A  SEAL.  5 

Lost  Tribes  of  Israel."*  It  is  observed  that  sealing  in 
the  Scriptures  is  one  of  its  loftiest  symbols  of  the 
circumstances  of  sanctification.  "(i)  The  letter 
written,  or  cabinet  filled  with  treasure  is  every  good 
Christian.f  (2)  The  wax  appointed  to  be  sealed  is 
the  relenting  heart  of  man,  apt  to  take  any  impres- 
sion. J  (3)  The  sealer  is  the  Holy  Ghost.  §  (4)  The 
seal  itself  is  the  Word  of  God  which  being  applied  to 
the  heart  makes  an  impression  upon  it.  (5)  The 
sealing  or  impression  active,  is  the  act  of  applying 
the  word  of  God,  whether  precept,  or  promise,  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  within,  and  the  minister  without  to 
the  hearer.  (6)  The  print  or  impression  passive,  or 
the  image  of  the  seal  left  in  the  wax,  is  the  knowl- 
edge, faith,  and  love  of  that  truth,  holiness  and  hap- 
piness which  God  originally  hath  in  himself,  and  his 
word  from  him,  and  the  new  man  hath  the  true  image 
thereof  in  himself. |  (7)  The  use  of  this  sealing  is 
the  secrecy  and  safety  of  the  thing  sealed  from  the  eyes 
of  curiosity,  and  the  hands  of  violence,  wherewith 
strangers  or  enemies  would  abuse  it.  So  the  children 
of  God  are  past  the  censure  of  the  wicked  world.  ^[ 
The  spouse  in  the  Canticles  wishes  to  be  set  as  such  a 
seal  upon  her  beloved's  heart,  as  a  seal  upon  his  arm. "|||| 
Josephus  records,  and  so  do  the  Scriptures,  how 

*See  in  fact  the  entire  "  Our  Race  Series." 

fll.  Cor.  iv.  7;  Heb.  x.  16. 

\  Psa.  xxii.  14. 

£  Eph.  i.  13;  iv.  30. 

I  Eph.  iv.  23;  Col.  iii.  10. 
*  I   Cor.  ii.  15;  iv.  3. 

II  Cant.  viii.  6. 


6  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

the  Thessalonians  wrote  a  letter  of  friendship  to  the 
Jews  and  claimed  them  as  brethren  in  Abraham, 
sealing  their  letter  with  the  seal  of  Dan,  their  father 
as  a  testimony.  The  generic  name  of  the  Greeks 
was  Danai — and  their  true  origin  is  as  much  bathed 
in  mystery  as  is  that  of  the  Tuatha  da  Danaans  of  Ire- 
land, whose  prince  was  married  by  Jeremiah  to 
Tephi,  upon  the  Lia  Fail  (Hebrew  for  the  Stone 
"Wonderful").*  Upon  that  sacred  "stone  of  des- 
tiny "  have  all  of  her  descendants  (David's  line)  been 
successively  crowned,  down  to  Queen  Victoria  herself ! 
This  was  "why  Dan  abode  in  his  ships."  His  mis- 
sion was  to  bear  the  tender  twig  (Tephi)  to  the  city 
of  merchants  (London)  in  the  land  of  traffic  (Great 
Britain),!  and  to  assist  Jeremiah  in  fulfilling  the  lat- 
ter and  important  part  of  his  mission  "to  build  and  to 
plant  "I  against  the  latter  times  §  See  full  discussion 
Studies  Nos.  Three,  Four.  Five,  'Our  Race  Series  " 
Each  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  had  its  standard, 
and  the  patriarch  of  the  tribe  wore  its  signet.  The 
devices  upon  them  were  taken  from  the  symbology 
of  the  blessings  pronounced  upon  the  heads  of  their 
fathers. §  To  each  of  these  tribes  a  certain  precious 
stone  was  attributed  in  the  breast- plate  of  the  High 
Priest  which  with  its  proper  color  and  duly  engraved 
with  its  name,  also  served  still  further  as  a  distinct- 
ive tribal  mark.  || 

* '  Dan  the  Pioneer  of  Israel  By  Col.  J  C  Gawler, 
Keeper  of  the  Crown  Jewels  London  Tower  London.  Eng. 
(Re-printed  in  Study  No.  Thirteen). 

f  Ezek.  xvii.  J  Jer.  i    10.  £  Gen.  xlix.  ;  Deut.  xxxiij. 

I  Ex.jd.  xxviii.  6-15    15-30. 


ANCIENT  SEALS.  7 

No  system  of  heraldry  has  ever  reached  the  per- 
fection of  that  of  ancient  Israel,  nor  among  any  peo- 
ples save  their  modern  descendants  is  the  art  now  so 
carefully  studied.  When  that  art  shall  again  yield 
back  to  us  all  its  secrets,  and  all  the  meaning  of  its 
symbolisms,  then  at  last  shall  Israel's  destiny  be  seen 
by  all  the  world — its  veil  withdrawn.  It  only  remain- 
eth  for  Joseph  to  reveal  himself  unto  his  brethren ! 

Ancient  Roman  seals  were  usually  set  in  a  ring, 
hence  their  Latin  name  of  annulus.  The  word  bulla 
has  always  been  used  in  Europe  to  designate  specifi- 
cally an  impression  of  a  seal  made  in  metal.  The 
edicts  of  the  Roman  pontiffs  were  thus  authenticated 
—hence  the  term  Papal  Bull. 


p 


The   shapes   of  seals   are   various.     The   circular 
form  is  common  to  all  periods.     The  ogive,  or  spade 

*  Hit! la  (Lat  a  boss  a  bubble,  a  stud).  The  publication  of 
apal  bulls  is  called  &fulinination.  The  bull  is  thus  described 
by  Mathew  Pans.  "Anno  Dom.  1257.  In  bulla  dommi  Papce 
stat  imago  Fault  a  de.itris  crucis  in  incdio  bullce  ftgurala, 
et  Petn  a  suit's  tr  is  It  is  impressed  in  lead. 


8 


THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 


form  of  the  escutcheon  of  heraldry  came  in  with  the 
pointed  style  of  architecture,  and  in  course  of  time 
became  the  shape  of  religious  seals.  The  oval  form 
is  frequent  in  France  in  Carlovingian  times. 

The  size  of  seals  has  varied  greatly  at  different 
periods.  From  the  antiquarian  standpoint,  generally 
the  smaller  and  thicker  the  seal  the  older  it  is. 
Those  of  the  Merovingian  kings  were  hardly  more 
than  an  inch  in  diameter.  That  of  Francis  the  I.  of 
France  had  a  diameter  of  4". 


SEAL  OF  ALEXANDER  DE  BALLIOL,  A.D.  1292. 

"The  great  seals  from   the  Conquest  to  Edward 


SIZE  OF  GREAT  SEAL.  0 

II.,  with  many  other  seals  of  the  same  period,  give 
admirable  examples  of  the  knightly  appointments  of 
the  time.  The  comparatively  small  seal  of  Sir 
Alexander  de  Balliol,  A.D.  1292  [opposite],  exem- 
pli ties,  in  a  characteristic  manner,  the  practice  of  the 
early  possessors  and  users  of  seals  in  having  their 
figures,  armed  and  mounted,  represented  drawn  from 
life  in  those  very  important  and  truly  interesting 
works  of  art  " 

The  statute  of  1782  does  not  specify  the  size  of  the 
Great  Seal.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  report 
of  Secretary  Thomson  took  this  subject  into  due  con- 
sideration, as  several  of  those  of  former  committees 
on  the  Seal  had  already  done,  and  that  the  size  of 
the  die  used  by  the  Government  under  Secretary 
Thomson  is  correct.  This  gives  the  proper  diame- 
ter of  the  Seal  as  2^  inches.  The  proportions  (not 
details)  of  the  obverse  face  could  not  be  more  beauti- 
fully conceived  of  than  they  have  already  been  by 
the  Treasury  Department  in  the  Centennial  Medal 
issued  at  the  Philadelphia  Mint.  Upon  the  re- 
verse face  of  this  medal,  however,  the  proportions  are 
not  good.  Examination  will  show  that  its  triangu- 
lar headstone  falling  from  the  sky  would  not  fit  the 
structure  below,  as  it  is  equilateral,  while  the  slope 
of  the  Pyramid  itself  is  ^rr-acute.  To  proportion 
this  central  device  correctly  the  height  of  the  Pyra- 
mid, completed,  should  be  exactly  equal  to  the  radius 
of  the  seal  (ijT),  and  the  length  of  its  square  base 
should  be  just  equal  to  the  side  of  a  square  (1.767"  +  ) 
whose  perimeter  equals  that  of  the  circular  seal 


10  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

itself  (7.06*  +  ).  These  are  the  wonderful  architectu- 
ral proportions  built  conspicuously  into  "  the  Great 
Pyramid" — the  oldest,  largest  and  most  mysterious 
of  all  pyramids,  and  the  type  from  which  Egypt  took 
"the  Pyramid  idea." 

Without  these  proportions  we  lose  all  the  grand 
symbolism  of  that  structure  and  are  guilty  of  charg- 
ing our  National  Seal  with  an  imperfect  and  subor- 
dinate copy  rather  than  employing  the  original  type 
itself.  Moreover,  to  ignore  the  type  is  to  fall  into  a 
symbolic  lapse  not  to  be  tolerated  iipon  the  "per- 
fect* arms  of  "  dominion '' inherited  by  so  great  a 
People, 

There  is  another  point  in  this  connection  which 
should  not  be  overlooked,  and  this  is  that  the  Great 
Pyramid  stands  just  back  from  the  edge  of  a  promi- 
nent bluff.  The  rocky  hill  upon  which  this  structure 
is  founded  was  first  terraced  off,  and  then  the 
"socket  holes  "  into  \vhich  its  northern  corner  stones 
were  partly  sunk,  were  let  into  their  natural  rock 
foundation  as  closely  to  the  northern  edge  of  the 
bluff  as  was  consistent  with  its  safety.  Below  this 
bluff  the  sands  of  Egypt  lay  exposed.  In  the  repre- 
sentation therefore  of  this  grand  monument,  upon 
our  national  Seal,  not  only  should  its  true  and  mystic 
mathematical  proportions  be  carefully  recognized, 
but  the  rocky  bluff  itself  with  desert  sands  below 
should  each  be  partly  shown  as  evidence  that  the 
structure  of  our  polity  is  founded  wisely  on  a  rock.* 

Seals   abound   among   Assyrian    and    Babylonian 

*  Math.  vii.  24-27. 


MEDIAEVAL  SEALS.  11 

remains.  The  earliest  seal  known  that  bears  armo- 
rial devices  is  that  of  Arnulphus,  Count  of  Flanders 
(941).  Such  seals  were  not  common  till  the  Thir- 
teenth Century.  In  the  Thirteenth  Century  it  seems 
that  in  France  at  least,  pendant  seals  had  displaced 
the  other  sort,  and  they  are  still  very  generally  used 
on  letters  patent,  treaties  and  other  important  public 
documents.*  But  it  was  during  the  Twelfth  Cen- 
tury, though  the  practice  was  not  well  established 
until  the  Thirteenth, that  the  contrivance  of  counter- 
seals  arose.  They  were  first  applied  to  pendant 
seals,  and  were  sometimes  so  made  that  the  mottoes 
interrupted  on  the  obverse  were  continued  on  the 
reverse. 

Such  was  the  virtue  of  a  seal,  in  the  time  of 
Charles  I.,  that  it  alone  was  sufficient  to  make  a 
writing  valid  and  binding,  while  without  it  a  signa- 
ture itself  was  not  considered  valid.  A  document 
was  non  factum  until  duly  sealed.  The  old  law,  as 
given  by  Lord  Coke  was;  "  Sigillnm  est-cera  impressa" 
—  "  a  seal  is  an  impression  in  wax. "  Hence  it  was 
that,  to  authenticate  an  impression  of  the  die  made 
directly  upon  the  paper  itself  without  any  wax, 
wafer,  or  other  adhesive  substance,  the  statute  of 
May  3ist,  1854,  was  passed  by  Congress.  This  law 
stands  as  Section  6,  upon  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the 
United  States  1875-8,  and  refers  as  much  to  the 

*  The  great  seals  appended  in  tin  boxes  to  certain  legal  docu- 
ments are  made  of  a  mixture  of  15  parts  of  Venice  turpentine, 
5  of  olive  oil,  and  8  of  wax  melted  together,  and  colored  with 
red  lead. 


i2  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

Great  Seal  as  to  subordinate  ones.  The  Great  Seal 
is  however  generally  impressed  upon  a  large  paper 
wafer  stuck  to  the  document  in  lieu  of  wax. 

Personal  Seals,  worn  on  signet  rings,  were  much 
more  common  in  former  times  than  now.  Before 
the  day  of  almost  universal  writing  they  were  con- 
sidered necessary  as  a  means  of  marking  a  document 
in  lieu  of,  or  in  addition  to,  the  signature  written 
thereon  by  another.  The  "mark'  (x)  now  made 
by  Indians,  and  other  illiterate  people,  serves  the 
same  purpose  as  a  Seal ;  it  is,  however,  as  ancient  as 
Jacob,  and,  as  the  sign  of  the  cross  made  above  the 
heads  of  Ephriam  and  Manasseh,  has  always  been 
familiar  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  Descendants. 

Many  ancient  documents  were  authenticated  with 
great  numbers  of  Seals.  Sometimes  this  was  only  to 
give  them  special  importance,*  at  others  it  indicated 
the  number  of  the  signers.  Thus  the  instrument 
setting  forth  the  election  of  Ladislaus  by  the  Hun- 
garian estates  was  stamped  with  88  seals,  and  the 
Statement  of  Grievances  sent  in  by  the  Bohemian 
Estates,  in  1415,  to  the  council  of  Constance  had  350 
seals  affixed. 

Admiral  Preble  pointedly  remarks. f  "  It  is  a  little 
singular,  that  while  each  and  every  state  has  a  State 
seal,  recognized  as  emblazoned  with  the  arms  of  the 
State,  to  authenticate  its  official  documents,  there  is 
a  prevailing  feeling  that  the  states  should  recognize, 
by  law,  no  state  flag  or  regimental  color,  but  the 

*  Rev.  chap.  v. 

f  Flags.     Page  6of),  2d  Ed.  1882. 


SEALING  WAX.  13 

Stars  and  Stripes,  while  in  fact  nearly  every  state 
has  a  regimental  color  for  its  volunteer  troops,  some- 
times legalized,  but  oftener  with  devices  originating 
in  the  caprice  of  its  owners." 

Sealing  wax.  The  constant  employment  of  sealing 
as  a  scriptural  symbol  looked  at  from  every  stand- 
point shows  that  an  impressionable  substance  of  some 
kind  was  well  known,  and  employed.  This  sub- 
stance among  the  Hebrews  was  probably  one  whose 
body  was  wax  itself.  The  Egyptians  used  a  sort  of 
clay.  So  did  many  other  ancient  Eastern  nations. 
In  the  time  of  Job  clay  would  seem  to  have  been 
employed  for  this  purpose  (xxxviii.  14).  The  Roman 
creta  and  maltha  were  probably  not  clay  or  chalk 
alone;  it  is  thought  that  wax  was  mixed  with  them. 
The  Byzantine  emperors  sealed  in  the  form  of  bullx 
with  lead,  sometimes  with  silver,  and  rarely  with 
gold.  The  wax  most  anciently  employed  was  white. 
When  in  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Centuries  wax  was 
made  of  various  colors,  only  emperors  and  kings 
might  seal  in  red.  France  employed  green  wax,  on 
letters  to  persons  of  high  eminence.  This  color  was 
introduced  into  Germany  in  the  Fourteenth  Century, 
and  was  appropriated  by  religious  houses  and  cities. 
Blue  seals  are  very  rare.  Charles  V.  of  Germany  is 
said  to  have  been  the  only  European  monarch  who 
used  this  color.  The  Patriarchs  of  Constantinople 
and  Jerusalem,  and  the  grand  masters  of  the  order 
of  Malta,  and  of  the  German  Teutonic  order,  sealed 
in  black.  Private  persons  usually  employed  yett<nv 
wax.  This  latter  color  is  the  most  frequent  one 


14  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

found  upon  the  public  documents   of   the   Twelfth 
Century. 

Modern  "sealing  wax"  is  a  composition  of  shell- 
lac  and  other  substances  added  for  coloring  and  per- 
fuming purposes.  Beckmann  notices  its  use  on  a 
German  letter  to  London  in  1554,  and  upon  others  a 
few  years  later.  The  Portuguese  had  it  in  common 
use  at  this  period  and  are  supposed  to  have  intro- 
duced it  from  India;  Venice  and  Spain  also  used  it 
at  this  time.  It  was  soon  well  known  in  Europe 
under  the  name  of  "Spanish  wax."  As  it  contains 
no  wax,  this  name  was  probably  transferred  to  it 
from  the  material  formerly  used  for  the  same  pur- 
pose (sealing).* 

*The  following  mixtures  are  recommended:  (i)  For  red,  6 
parts  shell-lac  4  Venice  turpentine,  %  resin,  i%  cinnabar;  or  4 
parts  bleached  lac,  i  Ven.  tur. ,  3  Chinese  vennit.  (2)  For 
yellow,  4  parts  lac.  2  Ven.  tur.,  1^4  resin,  %  King's  yellow.  (3) 
For  green,  the  same  except  King's  yellow  %  and  mineral  blue 
}£.  (4)  For  gold,  8  oz.  lac  4  oz.  Ven.  tur.  %  oz.  bronze,  %  oz. 
magnesia  with  oil  of  tur.  and  14  sheetsof  gold-leaf.  (5)  For  black, 
2  parts  shell-lac,  i  part  Ivory  black,  i  Ven.  tur.  The  finest  red 
wax  comes  from  India.  It  melts  at  140°,  and  the  best  impres- 
sions are  obtained  by  softening  it  -without  ignition  by  the  flame 
of  a  candle.  Seal  engravers  obtain  their  fine  proof  impressions 
as  follows:  The  seal  is  prepared  by  warming  it  to  as  high  a 
temperature  as  the  hand  can  bear,  brushing  over  its  face  a  thin 
layer  of  clean  tallow,  and  with  a  camel's-hair  brush  coating  this 
with  vermilhon.  Some  wax  is  detached  from  the  stick,  soft- 
ened near  a  candle,  and  being  placed  upon  a  piece  of  stout 
paper  is  gently  warmed  till  soft  enough  to  be  stirred  and  worked 
up  into  a  conical  heap,  The  seal  at  about  the  temperature  of 
the  wax.  is  then  quickly  stamped  upon  it  with  a  firm  straight 
blow  and  moderate  pressure. 


OUR  HERALDIC  TINCTURES. 


"But  the  Birthright  was  Joseph's." — I.  CIIROX  v.  2. 

"  Now  Israel  loved  Joseph  more  than  all  his  children  because 
he  was  the  son  of  his  old  age,  and  he  made  him  a  Coat  of  Many 
Colors." — GEN.  xxxvii.  3, 

"  Every  precious  stone  was  thy  covering." — EZEK.    xxviii.i3 

Tinctures  in  heraldry  are  of  three  descriptions — 
Metals,  Colors  and  Furs.  Upon  the  American  Coat- 
of-Arms  and  Seal  there  are  none  of  the  latter;  so  in 
the  institutions  that  the  People  sanction  there  are  no 
ern.ined  ones. 

Each  metal  and  color  in  scientific  blazonry*  is 
represented  by  a  distinct  precious  gem,  a  flower  or 
plant,  and  by  a  Heavenly  body;  and  when  the  arms 
of  sovereigns  and  states  are  described  by  the  elder 
heralds,  the  tinctures  are  frequently  denoted  by  the 
names  of  these  jewels  and  celestial  spheres. 

Both  of  the  metals,  Or  and  Argent  (gold  and  sil- 
ver), occur  upon  the  Seal.  The  whole  of  the  Reverse, 
in  fact,  is  most  impressively  tinctured,  entirely  as  of 
these  upon  an  Azure  field. 

Of  the  Heraldic  colors  the  five  primary  ones  are 
selected  in  the  order  of  their  honor — gules,  azure, 

*  Except  the  last,  least-honorable  and  seldom-enumerated 
two, — sanguine  and  tenny. 


1 6  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

sable,  vert,  purpure,*  and  both  of  the  two  unjew- 
elled  and  unastronomic  ones,  sometimes  enumerated 
as  tinctures — tenny  and  sanguine — are  left  out. 

From  an  examination  of  the  table  on  the  opposite 
page  perhaps  a  more  distinct  idea  can  be  formed  of 
the  charging  of  our  Arms  and  Seal  with  their  appro- 
priate tinctures. 

THE  METALS. 

The  two  most  precious  metals,  gold  and  silver, 
are  frequently  mentioned  with  deep  symbolic  import 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  In  the  image  representing 
Gentile  history  gold  formed  the  head  and  silver  the 
breast  f  The  chief  utensils  of  the  Temple  and  its 
ritual  were  of  gold  and  silver.  \  It  was  in  silver  that 
the  title  deeds  to  "our  inheritance"  were  purchased,! 
and  in  gold  that  the  very  streets  of  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem are  to  be  paved.  ||  In  tones  drawn  out  of  silver 
trumpets  were  the  tribes  of  Israel  collected  at  the 
Tabernacle.  •["  The  value  of  the  Gold  and  the  refine- 
ment of  Silver,  in  their  references  to  the  goods  and 
truths  of  perfect  life,  constitute  their  chief  import  in 
the  science  of  Symbology.  These  royal  metals  are 
the  only  ones  employed  in  heraldry,  and  are  both 
most  conspicuously  displayed  in  American  embla- 
zonry. The  silver  whiteness  of  the  one  was  an 

*  In  many  treatises  on  Heraldrj'  these  five  colors  are  the  only 
ones  mentioned.  All  other  tinctures  comprised  under  the  gen 
eral  title  of  "  proper"  occur  as  in  nature  where  their  blazonry 
is  necessary,  but  they  are  outside  of  the  royal  galaxy. 

jDan.  li.  38.     JGen.,  Levit. ,   Exod.,  Num.     §Jer.  xxxii.  9. 
I  Rev.  xxi.  21.      ^  Num.  x.  2. 


CORRECT  TINCTURES. 


CORRECT  TINCTURES  FOR  THE  NATIONAL  SEAL. 


CJ 

CORRECT  BLAZONRY. 

h 

Z 

O 

M 

f/^ 

X-6  t  o 

\ 

S3 

P 

By 

.n  c  TO  ' 
By           „-  §.S_  ^ 

JEWEL. 

COLOR. 

h 

Q 

"1 

H 

Statute. 

Heraldry. 

c  u  S  = 
S  t  c  g 

2 

5 

s 

J 

PC  o  u  = 

&< 

Z, 

w 

i 

The    Field. 

Azure. 

Azure. 

Azure. 

Sa'phire 

Blue. 

S3 

2 

Constellation. 

Argent. 

Argent. 

Argent. 

Pearl. 

White. 

U 

3 

Glory.* 

Or. 

Or. 

Or. 

Topaz. 

Yellow. 

Sable 

1.  e.,   NK| 
Hl-nl.  nlld 

Diamond, 

Black, 

H 

4 

Cloud. 

Proper. 

and 

rVnrl. 

White. 

Argent. 

(lilies  ,-ui.l 

Riihy, 

\Iliethj-l 

I'uri!le. 

5 

The  Field. 

Silent. 

Proper. 

Azure. 

Sa'phire 

Blue. 

6 

Scroll. 

Silent. 

Proper. 

White. 

Pearl. 

White. 

a 

7 

Motto. 

Silent. 

Proper. 

Gold. 

Topaz. 

Yello*. 

Henri  Htul  t;iil 

j* 

while.   l».d> 

Pearl 

White, 

E 

8 

Eagle. 

Proper. 

dark  l.rown, 
Leak    yellow, 

Natural  <Natu''> 

(Brown) 

V 

jo 

feet  yellow, 
tnlon's  black. 

Topaz. 

Yellow. 

O 

A 

9 

7l         Chief. 

Azure. 

Azure. 

Azure. 

Sa'phire 

Blue. 

V 

X 

e 

10 

!      7  Pallets. 

Argent. 

Argent. 

Argent. 

Pearl. 

White. 

H 

u 

ii 

^=      6  Pallets. 

Gules. 

Gules. 

Gules. 

Ruby. 

Red. 

H 

12 

Z  .     26  Leaves. 

Proper. 

Vert.t 

1.  e., 
Natural. 

Em'rald 

Green. 

'3 

=  |     13  Olives. 

Proper. 

Purpure. 

1.  e., 
Natural. 

Ameth. 

Purple. 

M 

~  M 
f  =    13  Flowers. 

Proper. 

Argent. 

Natural. 

Pearl. 

White. 

15 

13   Heads. 

Proper. 

(Or). 

(Or). 

Topaz 

Yellow. 

16 

:  i     13  Shafts. 

Proper. 

Argent. 

Argent. 

Pearl. 

White. 

5  £ 

Brown  and 

HIOWII 

Brown 

Hrown 

'7 

|  <    26  Fledges. 

Proper. 

White. 
(Or.) 

&     While. 

(Or.) 

ft    White. 

&    White. 

(Yellow.) 

18 

Words. 

Silent. 

Proper. 

Or. 

Topaz. 

Yellow. 

v 

"g 

'9 

Eye. 

Proper. 

Argent. 

Argent. 

Pearl. 

White. 

in 

20 

Triangle. 

Proper. 

Argent. 

Argent. 

Pearl. 

White. 

V 

"o 

21 

Glory. 

Proper. 

Or. 

Or. 

Topaz. 

Yellow. 

1 

I 

22 

Pyramid. 

Silent. 

Proper. 

White.* 

Pearl. 

White. 

I 

V 

| 

23 

Date. 

Silent. 

Proper. 

Gold.  8 

Topaz. 

Yellow. 

& 

H 

24 

Motto. 

Silent. 

Proper. 

Or. 

Topaz. 

Yello*-. 

jC 

J 

25 

Field. 

Silent. 

Proper. 

Azure. 

Sa'phire 

Blue. 

^« 

26 

Foundation.! 

Silent. 

Proper         r.ules. 

Ruby. 

Red. 

iA«at  OizelO.         iOr.) 

Wliltlxh. 

Yellow. 

•  KxtendliiK  well  down,  and  out,  over,  and  around  the  Kaxle. 

t  1     e.,   Under  ahl«  (it  allliwn)  Artent.                 I  1.  e.,  While,  ae  the  white  llmeKK.nt-*  of  Clieo|,». 

|  1.  e.,  The  golden  date  of  a  "Uolden  Age."          II  RorK,  Ked  :  and  SHU.  1  i,«ek-i  1  >ell.,w. 

18  THE  SEAL  OP  HISTORY. 

emblem  of  holiness,  purity  and  innocence,  of  peace 
and  of  reward,*  the  golden  yellow  of  the  other, 
one  of  wealth,  of  victory  and  of  eternal  rule.f 

THE  COLORS. 

The  tribe  of  Joseph  was  particularly  distinguished 
among  the  others  by  its  "coat  of  many  colors."  The 
origin  of  this  peculiar  tribal  distinction  was  the 
primary  source  of  that  jealousy  which  eventually  re- 
sulted in  its  exile,  its  separation,  and  its  final  special 
blessing. 

Among  these  many  colors  heraldry  has  chosen 
five  in  particular  that  are  marked  out  for  its  most 
honorable  blazonry — these  are  gules,  azure,  sable, 
vert  and  purpure.J  All  of  them  occur  upon  Man- 
nasseh's  American  Coat  of  Arms,  and  Seal.  The  bald- 
headed  eagle  brings  its  own  tincture,  the  dark  and 
hardy  brown  of  its  native  haunts,  into  the  galaxy  of 
colors;  but  this  coming  under  the  heraldic  term  of 
"proper"  is  not  to  be  strictly  enumerated  among 
the  heraldic  colors  as  such.§  Hardiness,  courage, 
valor,  success  and  happiness;  perseverance,  justice, 
royalty;  theology,  might,  omnipotence;  life,  vigor, 
truth;  fruitfulness,  imperial  sovereignty,  are  by  them 
implied.  || 

*2  Chron.  v.  12:  Rev.  vii.  14.  Isa.  i.  18;  Rev.  iv.  4.  vii.  9- 
13,  xv.  6,  xix.  8-14;  Rev.  i.  14,  ii.  17,  xiv.  14. 

fRev.  xviii.  16,  xiv.  14;  Psalm  xxi.  3.    See  Masonic  Manuals. 

\  Red.  blue,  black,  green  and  purple. 

§  Unless  "Tenny"  shall  cover  it. 

\Red,  Heraldry,  and  Nan.  ii.  3.  Gen.  xlix.  12.  Psal. 
Ixviii,  23,  Ixiii.  2.  Blue,  Heraldry  Symbology,  and  Esth.  viii. 


THE  COLORS.  19 

All  of  these  colors  were  symbolically  employed  in 
the  decking  of  the  Temple,  and  throughout  the 
Scriptures,  wherever  colors  can  be  appropriately 
used  in  the  figures  of  exalted  imagery,  they  are  lav- 
ishly introduced. 

So,  too,  as  symbols  of  temporal  prosperity  they 
are  made  use  of  continually.  Thus  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  feast  made  by  Ahasuerus  at  his  magnifi- 
cent palace  in  Shushan  every  one  of  these  more  gor- 
geous heraldic  colors  are  referred  to.*  They  are 
likewise  used  in  their  loftiest  spiritual  meaning  in 
the  magnificent  regalia  of  Ancient  Free  Masonry,  f 
and  symbolically  in  those  of  every  foreign  ancient 
and  modern  civic  and  military  order. 

THE  GEMS. 

The  gems  of  heraldry  are  likewise  most  signifi- 
cantly employed  in  scriptural  symbology.  They 
are  very  honorably  referred  to  in  numerous  places, 
both  individually  and  collectively. 

Six  of  the  seven  employed  in  American  blazonry 
the  ruby,f  topaz,  emerald,  sapphire,  diamond  and 
amethyst  (each  one  severally  engraved,  as  "with 
the  engraving  of  a  signet,"  with  one  of  the  names  of 
the  tribes  of  Israel),  were  used  upon  the  wonderful 

15;  Ezek.  xxiii.  6.  Black,  Heraldry,  etc.,  and  Jer.  iv.  28; 
Rev.  vi.  12;  Cant.  i.  5,  v.  n.  Green,  Heraldry,  etc.,  and 
Psal.  xxiii.  2;  Cant.  i.  16;  Jer.  xi.  16;  Hos.  xiv.  8.  Purple, 
Heraldry,  etc.,  and  Judg.  viii.  26;  Prov.  xxxi.  22;  Ezek. 
xxvii.  7.  Mark  xv.  17.  Etc. 

*Esth.  i.  5,  6.          f  See  Masonic  Manuals,  etc. 

\  Heb.,  Odem,  Sardius,  a  ruby. 


20  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

breastplate  of  their  great  High  Priest.*  The  Pearl, 
the  only  remaining  gem  of  American  heraldry,  is 
even  more  significantly  employed  in  the  Revelations. 
Here  we  are  informed  that  every  several  gate  of  the 
typical  "New  Jerusalem"  was  of  one  Pearl, f  and 
that  each  of  the  twelve  gates  was  engraved  with  the 
name  of  one  of  the  twelve  tribes. 

Again,  five  of  these  seven  American  gems,— the 
sapphire,  emerald,  ruby,  topaz  and  amethyst, \  are 
used  in  the  foundations  of  the  Holy  City.  Each  one  of 
these  is  likewise  there  symbolically  engraved  (but 
this  time  with  the  name  of  an  Apostle).  The  quad- 
rangular figure  of  this  city,  its  cardinal  orientation, 
the  regular  distribution  of  its  gates,  and  the  pyramidal 
form  of  its  superstructure,  all  material  tokens  of  its 
perfect  order  and  symmetry,  are  very  remarkable 
when  taken  in  connection  with  Job  xxxviii.  1-7  and 
31,  Rev.  ii.  i  and  Ephe.  ii.  19-22.!  They  are  still 
more  so  when  we  recall  the  startling  modern  discov- 
eries at  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Egypt,  the  success  of 
the  arms  of  Ephraim  (Manasseh  supporting)  in  the 
year  1882,  in  the  land  it  overshadows,  §  and  the  syn- 

*  Exod.  xxviii.  18,  xxxix.  ii. 

f  Rev.  xxi.  12,  14,  21.  |Also  Heb.  xi.  10. 

\  Perhaps  the  remaining  two  if  we  could  exactly  translate 
the  Hebrew  of  the  other  seven  mentioned.  (Diamond). 

See  also  Masonic  Manuals,  etc. 

§  1882.  The  British  occupation  of  Egypt  was  fittingly  cele- 
brated by  conferring  a  military  medal  upon  the  victors,  bear- 
ing upon  its  reverse  the  word  "  EGYPT"  above,  the  SI-HINX  as  a 
central  device,  and  the  date  "  1882"  below! 


THE  GEMS.  $1 

chronological  displayment  in  the  land  of  Manasseh, 
of  this  same  lofty  symbol,  so  long-  concealed,  upon 
the  Reverse  of  the  Great  Seal  (vide  "An  Important 
Question"). 

It  is  certainly  not  a  little  strange  that  the  two  sons 
of  Joseph — brothers  "John"  and  "Jonathan," — should 
each  have  had  his  attention  in  that  peculiarly  pyram- 
idal year — 1882 — drawn  back  toward  the  original 
land  of  separation. 

There  are  very  strong  grounds  for  believing  that 
further  back  in  human  history  than  the  days  even  of 
Joseph,  Manasseh  and  Ephraim,  Egypt  was  "the 
land  of  separation."  There  are  strong  reasons  for 
believing  that  this  was  the  land  where  Noah  first 
settled  after  leaving  the  Ark,  and  out  of  which,  in  his 
agricultural  kingdom  after  his  descendants  had  re- 
gained their  strength,  "they  journeyed  eastward  to- 
wards the  plains  of  vShinar. "  There  are  reasons  for 
believing  that  the  distribution  of  the  earth  among 
the  sons  of  Noah  was  made  in  Egypt  and  that  leav- 
ing the  greater  part  of  Ham  in  possession  of  his 
country,  Shem  and  Japhet  went  to  Shinar  merely  in 
the  carrying  out  of  decrees  already  made.  There 
are  reasons  for  believing,  too,  that  Nimrod  the  rebel, 
the  inventor  of  false  times  and  measures,  resisted  at 
Shinar  this  decree,  and  essayed  to  rear,  fool  like,  i:pon 
the  sands,  the  living  contrast  to  the  great  monument 
of  Egypt  (then  either  already  built  upon  the  rock,  or 
else  its  architectural  plan  agreed  upon  from  ante- 
diluvian designs),  and  that  for  doing  so  confusion  of 
tongue,  as  well  as  further  separation,  cursed  his  folly. 


22  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

Certain  it  is  that  the  Tower  of  Babel  and  the 
Great  Pyramid  of  Egypt  are  most  wonderfully  con- 
trasted in  their  origin,  their  idea  and  their  history — 
like  as  are  contrasted  in  these  modern  times  the  two 
great  metric  systems  of  the  world,  the  Metric  of  the 
French  and  the  Sacred  system  of  the  Anglo-Saxons!* 

" Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my  son;"  we  were 
all  called  thence,  Abram,  Israel,  Christ.  It  is  the 
land  of  origin,  yet  destined  in  the  end  to  be  one  of 
the  three,  Israel,  Assyria,  and  Egypt,  that  survive 
into  Millennial  days. 

Nor  is  it  mere  coincidence  that  one  each  of  the 
two  celebrated  Obelisks  that  in  Joseph's  day  graced, 
like  Jachin  and  Boaz,  the  entrance  to  the  Temple  of 
On — the  daughter  of  whose  chief  priest  was  the 
Egyptian  wife  of  Joseph  and  our  great  maternal  an- 
cestor— should  now  in  our  day  have  been  moved  to 
England  and  America! 

Precious  stones  are  figuratively  used  in  the  Scrip- 
tures as  significant  of  all  the  virtues  and  perfections 
with  which  humanity  should  be  adorned.  Thus 
Tyre  was  once  arrayed  "in  every  precious  stone,"  \ 
among  which  prominent  mention  is  made  of  the 
ruby,  topaz,  diamond,  sapphire  and  emerald. 

All  precious  things  were  blessed  upon  the  head  of 
Joseph,  and  as  we  have  seen  (Vol.  I.,  page  274)  have 
been  assumed  upon  the  separate  arms  of  Manasseh's 
children. 

*See  "An  Important  Question  in  Metrology,  '  by  C.  A.  L. 
Totten,  1884,  Our  Race  Publishing  Company. 
f  Ezek.  xxviii.  13.  i.  e.,  Tyre's  King. 


THE  BLESSINGS  OP  JOSEPH.  ^ 

THE  THIRTEEN  BLESSINGS  OF  JOSEPH. 

"  And  of  Joseph  he  said, 

"  Blessed  of  the  Lord  be  his  land, — 

"For  the  precious  things  of  heaven, 

"  For  the  dew, — 

"And  for  the  deep  that  concheth  beneath, 

"And  for  the  precious  fruits  brought  forth  by  the 
sun, 

"And  for  the  precious  things  put  forth  by  the 
moon, 

"And  for  the  chief  things  of  the  ancient  moun- 
tains, 

"  And  for  the  precious  things  of  the  lasting  hills, 

"And  for  the  precious  tilings  of  the  earth, 

"  And  the  fullness  thereof, 

"And  for  the  goodwill  of  him  that  dwelt  in  the 
bush: 

"  Let  the  blessing  come  upon  the  head  of  Joseph, 

"And  upon  the  top  of  the  head  of  him  that  was 
separated  from  his  brethren:" 

SUMMARY. 

"His  glory  is  like  the  firstling  of  his  bullock — And 
his  horns  are  like  the  horns  of  unicorns: 

"With  them  he  shall  push  the  people — Together  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth. 

"  And  they  are  the  ten  thousands  of  EPHRAIM, — And 
they  are  the  thousands  of  MANASSEH. "* 


*Deut.  xxxiii.  13-17.     (Paragraph  Version). 


24  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

THE  PLANETS. 

The  planets  though  employed  in  Heraldry  are  not 
alluded  to  in  the  Scriptures  save  once,  and  here  only 
as  condemnatory  of  their  worship,*  That  they  had 
certain  virtues  was  believed  of  old.  In  Medieval 
times  the  science  of  Astrology  arose  with  the  renais- 
sance of  Heraldry,  and  it  was  natural  that  both  the 
gems  of  Alchemy,  and  the  planets  of  Astrology,  should 
find  a  recognition  in  its  system  of  symbology. 

It  was  particularly  with  reference  to  their  .colors, 
however,  that  these  two  classes  became  associated 
with  blazonry.  The  light  of  Jupiter  like  that  of  the 
sapphire  was  blue,  that  of  the  Moon  like  that  of  the 
pearl  of  silvery  hue.  The  golden  hue  of  the  Sun 
found  its  counterpart  in  the  radiant  topaz,  Mars  was 
ruby  red,  Mercury  of  an  amethystine  purple.  Venus 
emerald  green,  and  the  planet  "  Diamond,"  like  to 
pearls  of  special  order,  black.  It  is  with  talons  tipped 
with  black,  as  it  were  of  adamant  that  the  American 
Eagle  grasps  its  "gifts." 

THE  FLOWERS. 

So  too  the  flowers  are  honored  not  only  by  Her- 
aldry for  their  colors  and  their  delicious  fragrance, 
but  by  the  Scriptures  as  redolent  in  emblematic  teach- 
ing. The  cedar  trimmings  of  the  House  of  God  were 
richly  carved  with  flowers, f  likewise  its  pillars,  and 

*  II.  Kings  xxiii.  5  ,  unless,  as  some  presume,  and  with  no 
little  authority,  the  reference  in  Genesis  i.  16,  is  to  the  Planets 
in  particular,  in  which  case  "the  stars  in  their  courses"  do 
have  influence  (Jud.  v.  20). 

f  I.  Kings  vi.  18. 


THE  FLOWERS.  25 

the  gold  and  silver  utensils  and  implements  of  its 
worship.* 

The  Tabernacle  was  similarly  thus  adorned.  They 
were  symbolical,  and  even  have  a  modern  language. 

The  simile  of  sweet  flowers  is  beautifully  used  by 
Solomon, f  and  we  are  all  familiar  with  the  quiet 
grace  with  which  "the  lilies  of  the  field,"  outstrip- 
ping even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory,  are  mentioned  by 
the  Saviour.  So  the  cypress  and  the  grape,  the  olive 
and  the  lovely  rose  of  Sharon,  are  wreathed  into  the 
beautiful  symbology  of  the  Holy  Writ  in  all  their  fra- 
grance. It  is  promised  that  "Israel  shall  grow  as 
the  lily,"  and  that  "his  beauty  shall  be  as  the  olive 
tree,  and  his  smile  as  Lebanon.  "J 

"The  flowers  appear  upon  the  earth,"  says  Solo- 
mon § — "it  is  the  time  of  singing.'  Spring  clothed  in 
all  her  perfume  and  beauties  hath  returned !  No  won- 
der then,  that  our  Revolutionary  forefathers  were 
struck  by  the  Bouquet  and  its  Pointed  Motto  on  the 
Periodical  ||  that  eased  their  evening  hours. 

Flowers  have  always,  in  the  poet's  language,  been 
the  stars  of  earth,  and  the  universe  itself  is  but  a 
bouquet  in  the  hand  of  the  Almighty. 

THEIR  UNITED  IMPORT  AND  SIGNIFICANCE. 
All  gems  are  precious,  but  each  one  in  some  dis- 

*See  description  of  its  construction  (Ex..  Chron.  and  Num.). 
f  Cant.  v.  13.         \  Hos.  xiv.  6. 
§Cant.  ii.  12. 

\Gent  lemon's  Magazine,  see  for  discussion  under  "E 
Flu  rib  us  I 'num.  ' 


26  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

tinguishing  degree ;  so  every  planet  to  the  ancients 
had  its  special  virtue,  every  flower  its  own  peculiar 
beauty  and  fragrance,  and  every  color  its  concealed 
significance.  Each  tribe  of  Israel  was  differently 
blessed  and  had  its  markedly  peculiar  traits.  So 
each  apostle  had  an  individuality  that  marked  his 
labors  and  contrasted  him  with  all  the  rest. 

Manifestly  the  embellishment  of  the  Temple,  the 
attiring  of  Tyre,  and  the  magnificent  architectural 
construction  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  each  in  precious 
metals,  and  in  priceless  gems,  has  deep  significance. 
So  the  decking  of  the  Priests  and  Tabernacle  with 
their  gorgeous  colors  and  symbolic  flowers,  and  the 
engraving  of  the  names  of  Israel  and  of  the  Apostles 
upon  the  jewels  has  still  deeper  meaning. 

Among  the  ancients,  this  science  of  symbology — 
the  long  lost  "  science  of  correspondence,"*  ran  into 
everything.  Into  the  twelve  months,  the  twelve 
signs  of  the  Zodiac,  the  twelve  perfect  fruits:  and 
so  on  throughout  all  Nature  and  her  works  this  study 
is  deeply  analyzed  to  find  the  very  essence  of  exis- 
tence. 

But  deeper  into  mysteries,  so  deep  as  these,  it 
seems,  at  present,  almost  vain  to  go;  yet  all  these 
mysteries  are  on  our  Seal  waiting  but  the  day  of  their 
revealment.  What  secrets  they  conceal,  what  lofty 
lessons  they  will  then  impart,  who  now  can  venture 
to  predict? 

Could  symbolism  be  more  perfect  then  than  we 
find  it  here  upon  our  Seal?  All  of  the  seven  tinctures 

*See  the  works  of  Emanuel  Sweden borg. 


THE  SEVEN  TINCTURES.  27 

of  Heraldry  are  charged  upon  Manasseh's  Coat  of 
Arms; — 'tis  thus  like  that  of  Joseph  one  of  many 
colors — many  in  one,  and  one  out  of  many. 

In  seven  tinctures,  therefore,  do  we  find  our  Coat 
of  Many  Colors  dyed,  but  sanguine  missing,  for  its 
introduction  was  a  fraud  of  old;  although  accom- 
plished upon  Joseph's  coat  of  arms  subsequently  to 
his  sale  to  the  Midianites,  it  was  for  the  purpose  of 
deceit,  and  merely  served  a  temporary  end.  There 
is  red  in  his  garments,  as  if  he  came  from  Bozrah 
and  he  is  a  type  of  Christ  who  did,  but  Manasseh 
and  Ephraim  and  the  tribes  his  followers  too  for 
that  matter  were  free  from  the  blood  of  the  Lamb — 
the  slaying  was  done  after  they  were  in  the  lost  con- 
dition, even  as  the  dipping  of  Joseph's  coat  in  the 
blood  of  the  kid  was  done  after  he  had  been  sold  to 
the  Egyptians.  It  is  a  beautiful  parallel — that  re- 
sults from  this  view  of  the  type — Jacob  stands  for 
God  in  the  story  (which  is  of  course  a  fact)  the  kid 
stands  for  Christ,* and  the  coat  of  many  colors,  dyed 
in  the  blood  of  Him  who  saves,  covers  in  reality  the 
entire  kingdom  of  the  Ten  Tribes  who  were  practi- 
cally lost  before  the  Crucifixion. 

Seven  gems  are  precious  above  others  to  his  peo- 
ple; with  all  these  jewels  is  his  breast-plate  decked. 
Seven  planets  bend  their  rays  benignantly  upon  his 
land; — their  unbound  influence  is  sweet  like  that  of 
the  Pleiadic  group,  f  Seven  flowers  symbolically  grow 
upon  his  favored  hillsides ; — their  bouquet  is  a  per- 
fumed motto.  Seven  of  the  apostles,  and  seven  of 
the  Tribes  of  Israel  have  their  names  pronounced 

Numb.  xv.  24.  f  °f  Seven  Stars. 


28 


THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 


upon  him ; — that  the  genius  of  his  institutions  may  pos- 
sess the  stable  and  the  noble  traits  which  they  exem- 
plified. The  seven  virtues,  typified  by  all  of  these, 
illuminate  his  way.  Thus  in  the  number  of  perfec- 
tion, seven  times  in  seven-fold  repetition,  is  his  bless- 
ing couched,  and  in  its  fullness  may  he  hope  to  real- 
ize it  all. 

THE    SEVEN  TINCTURES   AND   THEIR   SEVERAL   CORRESPOND- 
ENCIES IN  AMERICAN  HERALDRY.* 


COLOKS. 

GEMS. 

PLANETS. 

PLVNTS. 

VIRTUES. 

TRIBES. 

APOSTLES. 

Yellow. 
White. 
Red. 

Topaz. 
Pearl. 
Ruby. 

Sun. 
Moon. 
Mars. 

Marigold  and 
Cyprus. 
Lily  and 
White  Rose. 
Gillyflower 
and  Red  Rose. 

Charity. 
Faith. 
Fortitude. 

Issachar 
Reuben 
and  all  the 
tribes,  f 
Judah. 

James. 
Pe'er  and 
all  the 
Apostles. 
Bartholo- 
mew. 

Blue. 
Black. 

Sapphire. 
Diamond. 

Jupiter. 
Saturn. 

Violet  and 
Blue  Lily. 
Oak  and 
Olive. 

Justice. 
Prudence. 

Simeon.  $ 
Gad. 

Andrew. 
Thomas. 

Green. 

Emerald 

Venus. 

Myrtle  and 
all  verdure. 

Hope. 

Zebulon. 

John. 

Purple. 

Amethyst 

Mercury. 

Grape. 

Temp'nce 

Benjamin. 

Matthias. 

*  So  near  as  we  have  been  able  to  make  out  this  intricate 
matter  (for  modern  Heraldry  has  greatly  mixed  up  the  original 
significance  and  correspondence  existing  between  these  sym. 
bolic  things),  this  table  gives  its  arrangement.  It  is  in  the 
assignment  of  the  names  of  the  Apostles  and  the  Tribes  that 
the  greatest  difficulty  occurs:  Those  interested  in  this  line  of 
work  are  respectfully  referred  to  an  exhaustive  treatise,  "The 
Facts,  Fancies,  Legends  and  Lore  of  Nativity."  C.  A.  L.  Tot- 
ten,  1882,  Our  Race  Publishing  Company. 

•f-  Hence  (by  virtue  of  Gen.  xlviii  5  ;  I.  Chron.  v.  i)  "Ephraim 
and  the  tribes  his  fellows." 

|  Hence  (for  similar  reasons  given  abovef)  Manasseh  (Gen, 
xlviii. 


"Just  measure  and  a  perfect  weight 
Called  by  their  ancient  names." 

"  Set  me  as  a  Seal  upon  thine  heart,  as  a  Seal  upon  thine 
arm." — Solomon's  Song,  viii.  6 

"  And  he  saith  unto  me, 

"  Seal  not  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book:  for  the 
time  is  at  hand." — Rev.  xxii.   10. 

The  possession  of  a  just  measure  and  of  a  perfect 
weight  lies  at  the  roots  of  good  government,  and 
the  science  of  metrology  was  honored  in  Israel  by 
having  its  standards  stored  in  the  very  Holiest  of  its 
Holy  places.  The  ark  of  the  Covenant  was  built 
according  to  the  measure  of  a  laver,  71,464  cubic 
inches  in  capacity ;  this  also  was  the  capacity*  of  the 
famous  coffer  in  the  King's  Chamber  of  the  Great 
Pyramid.  Within  this  ark  there  was  a  pot  or  "omer" 
(a  four-hundredth  of  the  laver)  of  manna — that  is  of 
bread,  the  staple  of  physical  and  the  standard  of  spiritual 
life ;  in  it  was  Aaron's  rod,  supposed  to  be  a  sacred 
cubit  long,  and  at  any  rate  the  measure  of  measures 
that  had  swallowed  up  all  of  its  rival  cubits  in  Egypt ; 
and  finally  therein  were  stored  the  two  tables  of  stone 
which  set  forth  the  measure  of  a  perfect  life.  The 
chamber  itself  was  metric,  and  was  related  to  the 

•71,250  Earth  commensuric  cubic  inches  per  Sacred  cubit. 


30  THE  SEAL  OP  HISTORY. 

King's  Chamber,  which  was  circummetric — in  an 
intentionally  cosmometric  monument,  and  there  could 
have  been  no  accident  in  either  matter. 

Now  it  is  the  function  of  a  government  "of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people  "  to  see  to  it 
that  their  "units"  are  earth  commensuric,  and  that 
they  are  closely  adhered  to ;  hence  we  are  wont  to 
stamp  our  weights  with  a  Government  Seal,  and  the 
relation  of  an  official  seal  to  an  official  measure  is 
seen  to  be  an  intimate  one. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  repeat  here  what  has  al- 
ready been  thoroughly  set  forth  in  another  volume,* 
but  it  is  fitting  to  continue  our  discussion  of  the  sig- 
nificance of  Manasseh's  Seal  in  a  brief  consideration 
of  the  dimensions  which  are  best  suited  to  realize 
both  the  practical  and  symbolic  proportions  of  the 
instrument  itself,  and  in  making  an  effort  to  deter- 
mine the  proportions  whereto  it  should  be  cut  and 
crystallized  for  yet  future  time. 

A  perfect  financial  system  can  result  from  none 
other  than  a  correct  commercial  one,  and  it  is  a  sig- 
nificant fact  that  the  root  (}  £f  MN,  man,  or  manna, 
on  which  our  forefathers  fed  in  the  wilderness)  of 
Manasseh's  own  name  (,"}  j£f  *\  £,  MNSH,  Manasseti) 
is  likewise  the  root  (]  £)  of  the  maneh  (H  \  £  MNH) 
the  6oth  part  of  a  talent,  and  the  6th  part  of  an 
Ephah,  which  has  a  standard  value  of  '60  shekels  of 

*  Vide,  "An  Important  Question  in  Metrology — and  an 
earnest  word  with  the  English  speaking  peoples  on  their  ancient 
weights  and  measures." — Totten,  1884.  Our  Race  Publishing 
Co.,  New  Haven,  Conn.,  $2  50. 


THE  GREAT  SEAL.  31 

the  Sanctuary,  or  of  some  $35.436  (Ezek.  xlv.  12),  and 
whose  cosmic  value  in  "cents"  ;'.  e.  its  relation  to  the 
lunar  year  of  354.36  "days"  is  manifest. 

It  is  a  collateral  and  remarkable  fact  that  weight 
and  coinage  are  cosmically  related  to  each  other 
throughout  all  Israel.  Thus  the  silver  coinage  of 
Great  Britain  is  put  up  at  the  Mint,  and  sealed  in 
^"loo-bags  that  weigh,  and  are  actually  labelled 
respectively,  about  365.25  ounces  Troy  apiece,  while 
the  number  of  grains  in  a  silver  American  dollar 
are  put  at  412,  which  is  likewise  a  cosmic,  or  pyram- 
idal number  of  the  greatest  import. 

The  fact  is  we  cannot  have  "just  balances,  and  a 
just  Ephah,  and  a  just  bath  "  (Ezek.  xlv.  10),  as  con- 
templated in  that  final  vision  of  Ezekiel  (vide  chap- 
ters xl.  to  the  end  of  the  book,  and  which  is  the  cog- 
nate of  the  closing  vision  of  John  in  Revelation, 
chapters  xxi.-xxii.)  for  the  millennial  and  the  subse- 
quent eternal  ages,  except  they  are  founded  upon 
the  very  cosmic  measures,  to  which  we  ourselves, 
that  is  our  human  figures,  are  literally  proportioned. 

Therefore,  as  Manasseh  stands  for  Peace,  or  for 
forgetfulness  of  all  the  toils  of  its  attainment,  and  as 
his  Seal  in  particular  is  a  type  of  millennial  things,  it 
greatly  behooves  us  who  are  his  literal  and  lineal 
descendants,  to  make  our  title  clear  to  the  mansions 
that  remain  for  those  who  are  destined  to  enter  into 
Rest. 

There  has  always  been  much  confusion  as  to  the 
proper  size  of  the  Great  Seal.  No  dimensions  were 
specified  by  the  first  committee.  In  their  first  report 


$i  IHE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

the  second  committee  selected  4*  as  the  proper  diam- 
eter; in  their  second  report,  however,  they  adopted 
3";  but  no  particular  size  was  specified  by  any  of 
those  subsequently  charged  with  the  consummation  of 
the  work.  As  these  two  numbers  are  the  only  ones 
that  were  ever  specifically  suggested,  one  of  them 
ought  to  be  selected,  and  the  most  appropriate  one 
is  to  be  sought.  The  original  die  was  actually  cut  to 
a  diameter  of  2^  inches  and  all  subsequent  ones,  up 
to  1885,  were  held  to  this  dimension,  except  the  die 
of  the  Great  Treaty  Seal  which  oddly  measured  44 
in  diameter.  The  present  die,  made  in  1885,  is  3"  in 
diameter,  selecting  one  of  the  two  traditionally  pro- 
posed sizes. 

Thus  the  very  departure  from  2^"  to  4^",  and  of  late 
back  to  3",  shows  that  the  option  still  remains  with 
the  State  Department,  and  that  its  exercise  ought  to 
be  governed  not  only  by  a  deference  to  the  full  con- 
venience of  the  Engraver,  but  to  whatsoever  may 
add  to  the  import  of  the  Symbology  involved.  Now 
by  the  time  the  reader  shall  have  perused  the  present 
discussion  of  all  the  emblems  involved  in  our  National 
Heraldry,  we  are  satisfied  that  he  will  agree  with  us 
as  to  the  appropriate  diameter  whereby  to  realize 
the  deeper  significance  of  this  instrument. 

To  compass  the  proportions  of  the  Obverse  face 
alone  a  single  inch  would  be  sufficient,  for  as  a  mere 
sample  the  design  has  already  been  realized  quite 
accurately  at  the  Mint  within  these  dimensions,  to 
wit:  in  the  latest  model  of  the  silver  "Quarter," 
the  diameter  of  which  is  even  Jess  than  an  inch  (yf). 


THE  GREAT  SEAL.  33 

But  there  is  no  urgent  necessity  for  confining  our- 
selves to  the  minimum,  and  the  dimensions  of  the 
Treaty  Seal  itself  (4^"),  a  waxen  impression  of  which 
lies  before  us,  are  not  at  all  too  large  for  use  on  a  State 
paper.*  Is  there  a  happy  medium  ? 

The  question,  now,  resolves  itself  down  to  one  of 
symbology  and  of  appropriateness;  for  between  2^ 
and  4^  inches,  both  of  which  dimensions  have  actu- 
ally been  employed  by  our  Government,  the  difficul- 
ties of  mere  mechanical  execution  do  not  obtain. 

It  is  upon  the  Reverse  face,  if  anywhere,  that  we 
shall  find  diameter  and  dimensions  defined — statute  or 
no  statute — and  there  being  no  statute  definition,  then 
of  course  symbolically,  and  therefore  heraldically. 
The  pyramidal  proportions  of  the  Reverse  indicate 
the  correct  measure  of  the  entire  instrument  with  no 
uncertain  weight. 

The  Great  Pyramid  of  Gizeh,  as  the  supreme  type 
of  all  other  pyramids,  is  of  course  our  own  model,  for 
we  aim  at  nothing  secondary ;  its  construction  is  based 
upon  the  7r-ratio,  /'.  e.,  upon  that  of  the  circumference 
to  the  diameter  of  the  circle — 3. 14159+  : 

This  will  be  fully  established  when  v/e  come  to  the 
discussion  of  the  central  emblem  of  the  Reverse  face. 
In  the  meantime  let  it  be  noted,  that  as  the  zr-ratio 
ought  to  govern  every  dimension  upon  the  Reverse 
face,  and  as  this  ratio  underlies  all  the  mathematical 
functions  of  modern  science,  any  dimension  for  the 

*  This  is  particularly  so  when  we  remember  that  the  Great 
Seals  of  Nations  average  much  nearer  to  6"  in  diameter  than 
to  any  other  dimension,  which  size  (6")  may  taken  as  a  maximum. 


34  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

diameter  of  the  Great  Seal  which  will  bring  it  (ft)  into 
prominence,  no  matter  how  occultly,  will  lend  signifi- 
cance to  the  instrument  itself. 

Now  there  is  one  circle  in  particular  which  is  unique 
in  all  of  its  dimensions,  and  that  is  the  one  first 
selected,  although  we  grant,  unwittingly,  by  the 
second  Seal  committee,  to  wit:  the  circle  whose 
diameter  is  4". 

Such  a  circle  has  a  radius  of  2",  and  its  circumfer- 
ence in  lineal  units  has  the  same  arithmography 
(12.566370  +  )  as  its  area  has  in  square  units  (12.566370 
+  ),  that  is,  the  circumference  of  any  circle  being 
27rR,  and  its  area  being  ?rR2,  it  follows  that  (if  R=2) 
2?rR  will  equal  im  or  4^,  and  that  its  area  nrR2 
will  equal  7t22  or  4?r  also.  Thus  the  numerical  se- 
quence is  the  same  in  both  cases,  and  this  is  the  one 
unique  circle  of  all  nature — Let  us  have  it  on  our  Seal 
and  Square  its  Circle  ! 

We  therefore  urge  the  recognition  of  this  particu- 
lar diameter,  4",  as  the  one  which  is  without  compeer 
in  the  whole  sequence  of  numbers,  for  the  funda- 
mental measure  of  the  Great  Seal.  The  State  Depart- 
ment has  taken  a  step  towards  this  in  electing  3"  for 
the  diameter  of  the  present  die,*  but  in  due  time  a 
new  die  will  have  to  be  cut,  a  new  set  of  dies ;  for  the 
Reverse  face  now  cries  aloud  for  its  statutory  recog- 
nition (vide  pp.  199,  200,  201,  204,  214,  Study  Number 
Eighteen)  which  has  thus  far  been  defeated. 

With  the  cutting  of  this  Reverse  face,  all  the  func- 

*  That  is  in  adopting  one  of  the  only  two  dimensions  ever 
actually  proposed — but  the  least  appropriate  of  the  two. 


THE  GREAT  SEAL.  35 

tions  of  TT,  which  is  the  key  to  numerical  harmony 
itself,  will  be  brought  (forced,  unless  we  are  lax  in 
accepting  an  opportunity  to  compass  all  arithmo- 
graphic  things  at  once)  into  our  national  heraldry, 
and,  by  making  the  diameter  of  the  perfected  instru- 
ment 4*,  we  shall  consummate  its  symbology;  for 
this  diameter  is  the  best  and  only  one  that  indicates 
all  of  the  circummetric  principles  together. 

We  Manassites  claim  that  our  Constitution  solves 
the  complex  equation  of  mere  human  government — 
to  wit :  of  self  government  under  the  laws  of  Almighty 
God — and  we  do  well,  for  that  was  the  basis  of  the 
Theocracy  which  Israel  erred  in  abrogating.  If  then, 
and  so  to  speak,  we  square  the  circle  of  government,  and 
have  a  Seal  whose  most  prominent  occult  emblem  is 
exaltedly  circummetric,  what  could  be  more  appro- 
priate than  to  adopt  for  its  ruling  dimension  that 
diameter  which  above  all  others  is  unique  in  terms  of 
if  ?  A  diameter  of  four  inches  (4*)  is  undoubtedly 
the  proper  ruling  dimension  for  the  Great  Seal  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  was  the  first 
dimension  recommended.  Let  that  number  be 
selected  and  adhered  to  forever. 


"  And  thou  shalt  make  a  plate  of  pure  gold,  and  grave 
upon  it,    LIKE  the  engravings  of  a  Signet, 

HOLINESS  TO  THE  LORD. 

And  thou  shalt  put  it  on  a  Blue  lace,  that  it  may  be  upon 
the  Mitre;  upon  the  Forefront  of  the  Mitre  it  shall  be.  " 

Exod.  xxviii. 


THE  OBVERSE  FACE. 


"Oh  glorious  group  of  clustering  Stars." — Hon.  EDWARD  J. 
PRESTON. 

"The  way  of  an  Eagle  in  the  air  is  wonderful."  —  Prov. 
xxx.  19. 

"  Lo!  there  is  a  Mighty  Realm,  by  Heaven  designed, 
The  last  retreat  for  poor  oppressed  mankind : 
Formed  with  that  pomp  which  marks  the  hand  divine 
And  clothes  yon  vault  where  worlds  unnumbered  shine." 
— Dwight's  "  Prophecy  of  America,"  1771-74. 

Let  us  now,  however,  consider  the  Signification  of 
the  Obverse  face.  Upon  it  are  displayed  the  whole 
of  the  National  Arms  and  Crest,  the  entire  symbology 
of  which  will  be  best  determined  by  going  directly  to 
the  detailed  examination  of  these  armorial  bearings 
themselves. 

As  before  mentioned,  the  Obverse  face  is  the  only 
one  that  is  now  employed  by  the  State  Department 
as  the  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States.  We  have 
inherited  this  unfortunate  custom  directly  from  the 
Confederation  itself  under  which,  in  spite  of  the  plain 
requirements  of  a  law  that  necessitated  so  many 
years  to  formulate  (Law  of  June  20,  1782),  the  Ob- 
verse alone  was  cut.  The  reason  of  this  immediate 
violation  of  the  statute  by  the  Secretary  of  Congress, 
cannot  be  given,  as  he  destroyed  all  of  his  notes, 


38  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

That  a  part  of  the  Seal  was  thus  being  made  to  do 
the  duty  of  the  whole,  could  not  have  been  a  matter 
of  general  knowledge  even  at  the  time  when  this  cus- 
tom originated. 

This  is  made  manifest  from  the  tenor  of  the  article 
in  the  Columbian  Magazine  (1786)  to  which  we  have 
already  referred,  and  in  which,  written  but  four  years 


THE  PRESENT  DIE  (1885). 

after   its  adoption,    the  whole   Seal  is   described    as 
though  then  in  use,  as  it  clearly  should  have  been. 

It  appears,  moreover,  that  the  perpetuation  of  this 
custom  in  our  day  is  more  than  a  mere  technical  ille- 
gality. Congress  would  have  adopted  "armorial 
bearings  "  for  the  New  Republic  whether  a  Seal  had 
been  required  or  not.  These — the  Arms  and  Crest — 


THE  OBVERSE  FACE.  39 

have  an  independent  use  and  existence  entirely  sepa- 
rate from  their  special  employment  upon  the  Seal  as 
an  instrument.  As  it  happens  they  were  adopted  at 
the  same  time  as  the  Seal,  of  which,  following  the 
practice  of  other  States,  they  naturally  were  made  to 
form  an  important  part.  They  are  displayed  upon 
all  state  occasions,  deck  our  national  monuments  and 
structures,  beautify  our  coins,  garnish  our  military 
equipments,  and  educate  our  people  in  the  history 
and  principles  which  surround  their  Origin  and 
Destiny. 

But  though  stamped  from  an  official  die,  held  in 
the  hands  of  the  Secretary  of  State  himself,  they 
alone  cannot  by  law  constitute  the  National  Seal.  It 
is  expressly  provided  that  this  instrument,  used  for 
such  special  and  sacred  purposes,  shall  be  further  and 
particularly  distinguished  by  a  Reverse  by  means  of 
which,  alone,  the  Arms  and  Crest,  are  fully  supple- 
mented and  can  become  a  Seal  as  such.  There  is 
absolutely  no  reason  why  this  astonishing  irregularity 
should  be  continued  any  longer.  For  the  past  forty 
years  this  matter  has  been  repeatedly  brought  before 
the  public.  In  1856,  Lossing,  Wells,  and  Hamilton 
all  called  attention  to  the  seal  law,  and  printed  it  in 
full,  and  also  noted  that  the  Reverse  had  not  then  been 
cut. 

Why  has  it  not  yet  been  cut?  Why  is  it  not  cut  and 
used?  The  writer  was  informed  at  the  State  Depart- 
ment so  long  ago  as  1883  that  a  suggestion  was  made 
to  Secretary  Evarts  to  have  this  Reverse  cut  as  an 
act  commemorative  of  his  own  term  of  office,  but  that 


40  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

other  matters   interfered,    and    the   subject,    which 
excited  some  interest,  was  allowed  to  drop. 

It  is  certainly  high  time  that  some  official,  holding 
this  high  State  position,  should  take  a  step  which  will 
complete  the  Seal,  and  satisfy  the  Statute.*  This  step 
should  be  taken  as  one  of  duty,  and  that  alone  will  be 
sufficiently  commemorative  of  a  term  of  office !  It  is 
not  at  all  to  the  point,  to  urge  that  "  as  the  Reverse 
has  not  been  cut  hitherto,  and  as  a  century  of  laws  and 
treaties  have  been  authenticated  without  it,  we  can 
continue  to  dispense  with  its  use. "  It  is  a  mere  ques- 
tion of  law  that  is  now  mooted — a  matter  of  plain  re- 
quirement, and  one  that  brooks  no  quibble  such  as  this. 


Nor  can  it  be  urged   that  it  is  impracticable  to 
employ  both  faces  of  the  seal,  as  pendants  are  no 

July  7,  1883. 


THE  OBVERSE  PACE.  4' 

longer  used.  Here  again  it  is  a  mere  question  of  the* 
law.  If  this,  fairly  interpreted,  requires  a  pendant, 
then,  of  course,  let  a  pendant  be  employed.  But  this 
does  not  seem  to  be  at  all  necessary.  Such  public 
documents  as  require  the  Great  Seal  can  easily  have 
their  faces  arranged  for  a  double  impression.  The 
whole  seal  may  then  be  struck  at  once  from  a  single 
double  die,  or  from  two  such  dies,  and  so  far  as  an 
impression  upon  paper  is  concerned,  the  Seal  will 
be  complete. 


The  Seal-design  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina 
affords  a  case  in  point;  it,  too,  is  dual,  but  is  so  cut  as 
to  show  both  faces  at  once,  and  thus  accommodates  the 
law  to  the  modern  custom. 

In  ancient  and  illiterate  mediaeval  days  sealing 
was  a  necessary  and  sufficient  form  of  attestation — 
"sealed  and  delivered,"  without  a  mention  of  the 


42  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 


signature,  was  the  legal  phrase.  All  this  is  some 
what  changed  to-day,  for  now  the  signature  is  the 
feature  essential  to  a  compact  while  the  Seal  is  a 
mere  perfunctory  [L.S.]  not  unfrequently  made  with 
a  pen,  and  probably  legal  if  made  only  with  the 
thumb,  which,  by-the-way,  is  as  personal  and  inimi- 
table a  "mark  "  as  can  be  added  to  a  name. 

Armorial  devices  came  into  use  as  Seals  during  the 
Crusades,  but  at  last  a  law  of  Charles  II.  required  all 
documents  to  be  signed  whether  sealed  or  not:  seal- 
ing, however,  has  continued  in  use  until  the  present 
time,  and  will  doubtless  always  remain  in  force  in  so 
far  as  public  or  official  documents  are  concerned. 

We  are  assured  by  all  our  ancient  historians  that 
sealing  was  not  in  common  use  much  before  the  Con- 
quest. "The  method  of  the  Saxons  was,  for  such  as 
could  write,  to  subscribe  their  names,  and,  whether 
they  could  write  or  not,  to  affix  thereto  the  sign  of  the 
cross  (+  or  x  ),  which  custom  our  illiterate  vulgar  do  for 
the  most  part  to  this  day  keep  up,  by  signing  a  cross  for 
their  mark  ( x )  when  unable  to  write  their  names. 
Thus  Caedwalla,  a  Saxon  King,  honestly  avowed  his 
inability  to  write,  and  made  a  cross  instead,  at  the 
end  of  one  of  his  charters."  All  this  is  most  signifi- 
cant to  us  who  at  last  have  become  acquainted  with 
the  Origin  and  Destiny  of  Our  Race,  and  who  recog- 
nize the  right  of  the  humblest  member  of  the  House 
of  Joseph  to  the  sign  of  the  cross,  or  of  addition, 
and  multiplication,  that  was  made  over  the  heads  of 
our  ancestors,  the  sons  of  Joseph  at  their  adoption — 
when  the  Birthright  was  conferred  upon  them. 


THE  OBVERSE  FACE.  43 

"At  the  Norman  conquest  new  fashions  were 
brought  into  England;  waxen  seals  were  introduced 
instead  of  the  old  English  method  of  writing  their 
names  and  signing  with  the  sign  of  the  cross.  The 
impressions  of  these  seals  were  sometimes  a  knight 
on  horseback,  sometimes  other  devices,  but  coats  of 
arms  were  not  introduced  at  all  until  the  time  of 
Richard  I.  who  brought  them  from  the  crusades  in 
the  Holy  Land,  where  they  were  first  invented  as 
armorial  bearings,  being  painted  upon  the  shields  of 
the  knights  to  distinguish  the  variety  of  persons  of 
every  Christian  nation  who  resorted  thither,  and  who 
could  not,  when  clad  in  complete  steel,  be  otherwise 
known  or  ascertained. " 

"In  like  manner,  and  for  the  same  unsurmount- 
able  reason,  the  Normans,  a  brave,  but  illiterate 
nation,  at  their  first  settlement  in  France,  used  the 
practice  of  sealing  only,  without  writing  their  names: 
and  hence  the  charter  of  Edward  the  Confessor  to 
Westminster  Abbey,  himself  being  brought  up  in 
Normandy,  was  witnessed  only  by  his  seal,  and  is 
generally  thought  to  be  the  oldest  sealed  charter  of 
any  authenticity  in  England." 

The  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States  consists  of 
three  separate  parts,  which  in  the  order  of  their 
importance  are  the  Arms,  the  Crest, and  the  Reverse, 
Both  the  Arms  and  Crest  are  found  upon  the  Obverse 
face  of  the  instrument;  the  Reverse  stands  alone  and 
counterbalances  the  rest.  Strictly  speaking,  the 
Reverse  is  the  counter-sigillum  of  the  Arms  alone, 
and  the  Crest  is  an  independent  device.  Upon  the 


44  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

Seal,  however,  it  is  naturally  placed  over  the  Arms, 
and  at  the  middle  chief-point   of  the  Obverse. 

As  it  is  our  purpose  in  this  Second  Volume  to  con- 
sider the  Signification  of  these  several  parts  of  the 
Seal  and  of  their  several  elements  in  their  natural  and 
logical  order,  we  proceed  at  once  to  a  discussion  of 
the  Arms,  which  form  the  main  design  upon  this 
Obverse  face. 


THE  ARMS. 


"  The  medal  faithful  to  its  charge  of  fame 
Through  climes  and  ages  bears  each  form  and  name." 
***** 

"  A  small  Euphrates  through  the  piece  is  rolled 
And  little  eagles  wave  their  wings  in  gold." 

— "Treatise  on  Coins,"  Pope. 

Arms  in  Heraldry,  or  Armorial  Bearings,  are  the 
devices  borne  upon  shields  or  coats  of  armor.  Their 
origin  and  use  are  as  early  as  the  naming  of  the 
constellations.  Heraldry  and  all  that  pertains  thereto 
had  its  primary  origin  in  the  East,  the  land  of  sym- 
bolism and  allegory,  and  the  whole  character  of  the 
Bible,  the  most  valued  inheritance  we  have  from  the 
original  home  of  the  human  race,  is  symbolic. 
Among  the  ancient  Hebrews  this  art  reached  its 
highest  development,  and  in  their  typical  life,  religion 
laws  and  institutions,  it  flowed  as  a  natural  stream. 
The  "Science  of  Correspondence"  pervades  the 
entire  book  of  Holy  Writ,  and  vivifies  it  as  the  spirit 
does  the  body. 

"Symbols,"  says  Miiller,  "are  evidently  coeval 
with  the  human  race;  they  result  from  the  union  of 
the  soul  with  the  body  in  man.  Nature  has  im- 
planted the  feeling  for  them  in  the  human  heart." 
But  this  is  a  proof  of  Inspiration,  or  rather  of  a  coeval 
Revelation  of  what  was  to  be,  for  there  was  no  ex- 


46  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

perience  at  the  dawn  to  draw  on,  and  the  symbols 
that  are  coeval  with  the  Race  are  found  to  be  wrought 
out  into  history  by  the  close  of  Gentile  times. 

"But  symbolism  is  not  only  the  most  natural  and 
most  general,  it  is  the  most  practically  useful  of  the 
sciences.  God  himself,  knowing  the  nature  of  the 
creatures  formed  by  Him,  has  condescended,  in  the 
earlier  revelations  of  Himself,  to  teach  by  symbols, 
and  the  greatest  of  all  teachers  taught  the  multitudes 
by  parables;  and  'without  a  parable,'  or  symbol, 
'  spake  he  not  unto  them.' "  Faber  says,  "Hence 
the  language  of  symbolism,  being  so  purely  a  lan- 
guage of  ideas  is,  in  one  respect,  more  perfect  than 
any  ordinary  language  can  be ;  it  possesses  the  vari- 
egated elegance  of  synonyms  without  any  of  the 
obscurity  which  arises  from  the  use  of  ambiguous 
terms. "  And  therefore  may  we  add,  its  province  is 
prophetic  and  its  historic  realization  is  the  proof  of 
Inspiration  and  of  a  Revelation  coeval  with  the  Race. 

It  is  a  most  natural  consequence  that  when  the  dis- 
pensation of  fulfillment  succeeded  to  that  of  type  there 
should  have  followed  a  long  period  during  which 
darkness  and  disuse  fell  upon  the  art  and  science  of 
the  latter.  This  is  what  actually  occurred  among 
the  Northern  nations,  coming  into  the  bonds  of  the 
new  covenant.  The  Latin  church,  however,  soon 
re-adopted  all  the  more  expressive  devices  of  this 
ancient  art,  as  far  as  they  related  to  a  symbolic  re- 
ligion, and  it  is  probably  due  to  its  influence,  once  so 
universal,  that  in  the  times  of  the  Crusades  we  first 
begin  to  notice  the  reappearance,  as  an  hereditary 


THE  ARMS.  47 

transmission  from  father  to  son,  of  certain  distinctive 
insignia  borne  as  in  earlier  times,  upon  their  per- 
sonal Crests,  Standards  and  Escutcheons. 

National  heraldry,  or  the  adoption  of  distinctive 
emblems  by  civil  communities  is  however  far  more 
ancient  than  personal,  and  has  not  that  break  in  its 
succession  which  we  notice  in  the  latter.  Thus  even 
in  Turkey  and  Persia,  where  personal  heraldry  is  un- 
known (and  also  in  our  own  country  where  it  is  still 
as  good  as  ignored),  we  find  national  ensigns  of  correct 
heraldic  character. 

The  Arms  of  our  fraternal  nation,  Great  Britain, 
or  "  John  Bull,"  are  quite  as  familiar  to  Americans 
as  are  their  own ;  and  perhaps  afford  the  most  magnifi- 
cent example  there  is  of  the  pure  heraldic  art  as  such. 
It,  of  course,  is  not  our  purpose  to  discuss  them  here, 
nor  is  it  our  province,  but  they  should  be  noticed  at 
least  briefly  in  connection  with  our  present  topic. 

Their  structure  is  unique,  and  quite  as  full  of 
Israelitish  reference  as  our  own.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  they  have  Supporters;  this  is  not  because  of  any 
lack  of  self  reliance,  but  as  it  were  to  indicate  a  right, 
for  Great  Britain  is  "  Ephraim,"  and  Ephraim  is  the 
"Company  of  Nations"  that  in  a  particular  sense 
represents  the  Ten  Tribes  (Ezek.  xxxvii.  15-28),  her 
Royal  contingent  is  the  Remnant  of  J  udah  that  escaped 
in  Jeremiah's  day.  Hence,  the  Supporters  are  the 
Lion  of  the  Tribe  of  Judah,  and  the  Unicorn  of  Israel, 
and  the  Quarterings  bear  the  Young  Lions  (seven  of 
them,  which  remind  us  of  the  Heptarchy),  and  the 
Harp  of  David,  which  stands  for  Dan  and  Simeon 


48  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

(Ireland  and  Wales).  The  Garter  is  the  Zodiac  of 
Jacob's  heritage,  and  the  Motto  below  is  that  of  Ben- 
jamin, who  came  in  with  the  Normans.  Here,  then, 
are  the  Ten  Tribes  personified. 

Now  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  Unicorn  is  chained, 
while  the  Great  Lion  is  free  and  displayed  in  dexter; 
this  latter  is/ar  excellence  the  emblem  of  Judah,  in  his 
inherited  dominance  over  Israel  as  in  David's  line. 
Therefore,  the  Crest  is  the  crown  of  essential  right, 
call  it  divine  right,  for  so  it  is,  and  it  indicates  where 
the  Sceptre  belongs  (Gen.  xlix.  10).  Further  than 
this,  we  now  have  but  little  need  to  elucidate,  for  the 
subject  demands  quite  as  much  space  at  the  hands  of 
an  Ephraimite  as  the  specific  one  \ve  have  in  hand ; 
but  it  is  interesting  to  compare  the  heraldry  of  these 
two  houses  of  Joseph,  and  to  note  how  powerful  they 
both  are  in  their  several  fields,  and  how  Israelitish. 
Ephraim's  in  particular,  is  that  of  Israel  under  the 
permanent  Sceptre  of  Judah.  "  Come,  therefore,"  if 
thou  be  an  enemy  to  Israel,  "and  I  will  advertise  thee 
what  this  people  shall  do  to  thy  people  in  the  latter 
days"  (Num.  xxiv.  14),  and  if  thou  art  one  with  us 
in  the  aim  to  benefit  humanity  in  the  mere  struggle 
for  existence  and  betterment,  come  anyway,  for  there 
is  much  to  .set  in  order.  (Vide  also  Dan.  x.  14). 

If  inspired,  the  harmonized  Bible  taken  in  its 
original  text  will  be  found  to  be  inerrant,  and  it  will 
be  difficult,  if  it  is  not  inspired,  to  find  a  pair  of 
nations  that  are  better  fitted  to  fulfill  its  occult  antici- 
pations. For  instance,  here  are  the  Arms  of  Eph- 
raim. 


THE  ARMS. 


"  Nemo  me  impune  lacessit."'1 

"  Judah  is  a  Lion's  whelp;  from  the  prey,  my  son, 
thou  art  gone  up;  he  stooped  down,  he  couched  as 
a  Lion,  and  as  an  old  Lion;  who  shall  rouse  him  up? 
The  Sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  law- 
giver from  between  his  feet,  until  Shiloh  [Rest-Mil- 
lenial]  come:  and  unto  him  [Judah]  shall  the  gather- 
ing of  the  people  be"  (Gen.  xlix.  9-10).  "Hear, 
Lord,"  said  Moses,  "the  voice  of  Judah,  and  bring 
him  unto  his  people;  let  his  hands  be  sufficient  for 
him ;  and  be  thou  an  help  to  him  from  all  his  enemies  " 
(Deut.  xxxiii.  7). 

"  The  shout  of  a  King  is  among  them."  (Comp.  i  Thess.  iv.  16). 

Hear  also  what  Balaam  said  of  Israel.  "God 
brought  them  out  of  Egypt;  he  hath  as  it  were,  the 


5<3  THE  SEAL  OF  HiSTOkY. 

strength  of  an  Unicorn.  Surely  there  is  no  enchant- 
ment against  Jacob,  neither  is  there  any  divination 
against  Israel ;  according  to  this  time  it  shall  be  said 
of  Jacob  and  of  Israel, 

"  What  hath  God  wrought!" 

"  Behold  the  people  shall  rise  up  as  a  Great  Lion, 
and  lift  up  himself  as  a  young  Lion :  he  shall  not  lie 
down  until  he  eat  of  the  prey,  and  drink  the  blood  of 
the  slain  "  (Numb,  xxiii.  22-24). 

Now  Ephraim  stands  for  the  Ten-Tribed  Kingdom 
in  that  he  hath  the  precedence  in  the  Birthright,  and 
is  the  chosen  leader  in  Israel  (Ezek.  xxxvii.  16), 
therefore,  as  the  Lion  is  both  Judah's  and  Israel's,  so 
also  is  the  Unicorn  not  only  Israel's  but  Ephraim's. 

"  His  glory  is  like  the  firstling  of  his  Bullock,  and 
his  horns  are  like  the  horns  of  Unicorns;  with  them 
he  shall  push  the  people  together  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth ;  and  they  are  the  ten  thousands  of  Ephraim  " 
(that  \sper  one  thousand  each,  to  each  of  Ephraim's 
ten  tribes  in  the  collective  sense)  "and  they  are  the 
thousands  of  Manasseh  "  (/'.  ^.,  in  the  same  relative 
sense  as  a  tribe,  but  for  other  reasons  inheriting  the 
blessing  of  separation  and  so  of  self-government; 
Deut.  xxxiii.  17). 

There  is  no  disputing  the  heraldry  of  Israel,  nor 
escaping  the  conclusion  that  it  is  in  the  possession  of 
Great  Britain  in  an  exalted  sense.  Balak  sought  in 
vain  to  stem  the  tide  of  prophecy,  for  Balaam  said, 
"God  brought  him  out  of  Egypt;  he  hath  as  it  were 
the  strength  of  an  Unicorn ;  he  shall  eat  up  the  nations 


THE  ARMS.  51 

his  enemies,  and  shall  break  their  bones  and  pierce 
them  through  with  his  arrows.  He  couched,  he  lay 
down  as  a  Lion  and  as  a  Great  Lion ;  who  shall  stir 
him  up?  Blessed  is  he  that  blesseth  thee,  and  cursed 
is  he  that  curseth  thee  "  (Num.  xxiv.  8-9). 

The  six  young  Lions  represent  the  six  great  Col* 
onies  of  Britain  spoken  of  by  Ezekiel.  "  The  mer- 
chants of  Tarshish  with  all  the  young  lions  thereof  " 
(Ezek.  xxxviii.  13)  are  surely  British,  and  they  rule 
over  the  land  of  Traffic,  and  have  their  metropolis  in 
the  great  city  of  merchants  referred  to  by  the  same 
prophet  in  that  wonderful  riddle  that  sets  forth  the 
transfer  of  the  Sceptre  to  the  West  (Ezek.  xvii.).*  It 
is  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  that  floats  over  Lon- 
don-Keep, and  the  Unicorn  of  John  Bull  is  undoubt- 
edly the  Unicorn  of  latter-day  Israel. 

As  we  take  it  for  granted  that  these  literal  facts  are 
well  understood  by  our  own  constituents,  for  whom 
we  chiefly  labor,  we  shall  go  no  further  in  this  line, 
but  invite  our  friends  to  note  that  an  analytical  dis- 
cussion of  the  symbology  demands  thorough  treatment 
of  the  same. 

But  to  return  to  our  specific  topic. 

The  national  arms  of  the  United  States  are  arms 
of  "Dominion,"  are  "Perfect,"  and  are  "Abstract." 
They  indicate  that  its  sovereignty  is  warranted  by 
birthright  and  regular  descent,  and  that  it  is  of  the 
primary  order.  Its  escutcheon  is  surcharged  with 
no  "Differences;"  so  in  the  union  of  states,  they  are 

*Vide  .Studies  Numbers  Three,  Four  and  Five,  Our  Raco 
Series. 


$2  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

all  older  even  than  Elder  Sons,  they  are  founders, 
all  equal  inheritors  of  every  privilege  of  freemen, 
one  with  another. 

In  heraldry  "differences"  are  devices  borne  on  an 
escutcheon  to  indicate  the  part  of  a  family  to  which 
the  bearer  belongs.  This  has  been  effected  by  vari- 
ous methods — at  present  by  what  are  termed  bris- 
ures,  marks  of  filiation,  or  of  cadency ;  being  small 
charges  placed  upon  the  shield.  The  Eldest  Son  bears 
a  label  of  three  points;  the  second  a  crescent; 
the  third  a  mullet ;  the  fourth  a  martlet ;  the  fifth  an 
annulet;  the  sixth  a  fleur-de-lis;  the  seventh  a  rose; 
the  eighth  a  cross  moline ;  the  ninth  a  double  quatre- 
foil.  The  family  of  the  second  son  repeats  these 
differences  on  their  own  paternal  mark  of  filiation : — 
e.  g.,  the  second  son's  first  son  bears  a  crescent  en- 
signed  with  a  label,  and  so  on  of  the  rest.  [Brande] 
As  above  stated  American  heraldry  has  no  concern  in 
these  subordinate  matters;  if  we  be  Manasseh,  we  are 
an  Eldest  Son,  and  our  "  label '  is  a  Pentalpha  in  Ob- 
verse, and  a  TC- triangle  in  Reverse,  the  one  being  the 
emblem  of  the  other. 

In  the  order  of  their  importance,  the  various  de- 
vices that,  as  elementary  ones,  unite  to  form  our 
"Coat  of  Arms,"  are  as  follows:  The  Eagle,  The 
Escutcheon,  The  Scroll,  The  Motto,  The  Olive- 
branch  and  the  Bundle  of  Arrows.  We  shall  now 
examine  these  six  heraldic  elements  separately. 


THE  EAGLE. 


1 '  Hail  to  the  land  of  whirring  wings  [or  overshadowed  with 
wings—/.  <?.,  the  Eagle's  land]  that  lieth  beyond  the  rivers  of 
Ethiopia." — Isa.  xviii.  i. 

"  Then  the  Lord  answered  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind- 
Doth  the  Eagle  mount  up  at  thy  command,  and  make  her 

nest  on  high  ? 

She  dwelleth  and  abideth  on  the  rock, 
Upon  the  crag  of  the  rock, and  the  strong  place. 
From  thence  she  seeketh  the  prey, 
And  her  eyes  behold  afar  off. 
Her  young  ones  also  suck  up  blood ; 
And  where  the  slain  are,  there  is  she." 

— Job  xxxix.  27-30. 

"  The  Eagle  he  was  lord  above, 
And  Rob  was  lord  below." 

WORDSWORTH  ("  Rob  Roy's  Grave"). 

The  Eagle  first  appears  in  American  heraldry  upon 
the  flag  of  Washington's  Life  Guard,  with  the  shield 
upon  its  breast,  was  incidentally  employed  by  Mr. 
Barton  in  one  of  his  early  designs  for  the  Seal,  but 
owes  its  central  prominence  upon  the  Arms  to  Secre- 
tary Thomson's  genius  in  associating  all  the  best 
elements  into  one  harmonious  whole,  whose  heraldic 
accuracy  was  finally  completed  by  Mr.  Barton. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  heraldic  attitude  of  the 
Eagle  upon  Manasseh's  Arms  is  natural  and  altogether 
different  from  the  symbolization  of  the  royal  bird 


54  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 


THE  RUSSIAN  EAGLE. 

that  finds  a  place  upon  the  standards  of  Austria- 
Hungary,  Russia,  et  catera.  With  us  the  Eagle  is 
represented  without  any  deformity  (it  is  not  a  double- 
headed  monstrosity)  and  with  the  tips  of  its  wings 
raised  to  chief.  His  aspect  too  is  westward,  that  is 
along  the  Course  of  Empire. 

The  Eagle  is  an  emblem  of  nationality,  and  has 
always  been  so  (Ezek.  xvii.  3-7),  and  its  old  world 
flock  is  gathered  together  at  this  minute  where  the 
carcass  is ;  to  wit,  to  watch  Turkey  (the  sick  man)  in 
its  final  throes.  This  is  the  great  sign  of  our  times 
and  precedes  the  Restoration  of  Our  Race  to  its 
ancient  heritage,  and  anticipates  the  coming  of  its 
King  to  rule  and  to  fulfill  the  desire  of  all  nations — 
all  this  is  according  to  the  Prophets — modern  scorn  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

"  The  Eagle,  in  heraldry,  is  accounted  one  of  the 
most  noble  bearings  in  armoury;  and,  according  to 
the  learned  in  this  science,  ought  to  be  given  to  none 
but  such  as  greatly  excel  in  the  virtues  of  generosity 
and  courage.  *  *  *  The  Eagle  on  medals  [and  so 


THE  EAGLE.  $$ 

on  dies]  according  to  M.  Spanheim,  is  a  symbol 
of  Divinity  and  Providence. "  Why  it  was  stripped 
of  its  feathers  and  then  used  as  the  emblem  of  the 
Nile,  we  do  not  know,  but  in  this  form  it  was  one  of 
the  most  ancient  standards  of  Egypt :  but  we  do  know 
that  those  who  undertake  to  pluck  Manasseh's  Eagle, 
will  find  their  hands  full  ere  its  feathers  are  rumpled ! 


"Though  formidable  to  all  birds,  yet  the  Eagle 
suffers  them  to  build  near  his  regal  nest  without  mo- 
lestation; particularly  the  fishing  hawk,  herons,  ct 
cietera,  all  of  which  build  in  high  trees,  and  in  some 
places  so  near  one  another  that  they  appear  like  a 
rookery."  But  ere  we  go  on  let  us  cite  a  few  facts  of 
natural  history,  as  to  the  bird  itself  and  its  connec- 
tions. 


5<$  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

The  Falco  in  Ornithology  is  a  genus  belonging  to 
the  order  of  Accipitres,  the  characteristics  of  which 
are:  crooked  beak  with  wax  at  the  base;  head  thick 
set  with  feathers;  and  tongue  cloven  or  bifid;  the 
Eagle  and  hawk  form  the  genus. 

The  Aquila  or  Eagle  family  comprises  the  strongest 
and  most  courageous  birds  of  prey  of  this  great  tribe 
of  Falcons;  they  are/ar  excellence  the  royal  bird,  and 
have  always  been  associated  with  empire  and  have 
companioned  with  royalty  from  the  very  earliest 
times. 

Of  this  family,  the  Leucocephalus  is  the  bald  or 
white-headed  Eagle ;  it  is  of  a  brown-ash  color  with 
head  and  tail  white ;  iris  white,  over  which  is  a  prom- 
inence covered  with  yellow  skin;  bill  and  cere,  or 
wax,  yellow,  as  are  the  legs  and  feet;  talons  black. 

Lawson  says  that  "Eagles  breed  very  of  ten,  lay- 
ing again  under  their  own  callow  young,  whose 
warmth  hatches  the  eggs.  In  Behrings  Isle  they 
make  their  nests  on  the  cliffs,  nearly  six  feet  wide 
and  one  foot  thick,  and  lay  two  eggs  in  the  beginning 
of  July  [July  4,  1776!].  This  species  inhabits  both 
Europe  and  America,  but  is  more  common  in  the 
latter." 

The  Tartars  esteem  the  tail  feathers  of  the  Eagle 
as  the  best  they  have  for  pluming  their  arrows,  and 
so  far  as  we  ourselves  have  been  able  to  count  speci- 
mens, the  American  or  baldheaded  Eagle  will  furnish 
13  tail  feathers  apiece. 

And  Mexico  has  inherited  this  very  same  emblem 
(probably  via  the  "lost  Atlantis")  from  the  origines 


THE  EAGLE. 


57 


THE  MEXICAN  QUARTER. 

whence  we  ourselves  derive  it ;  from  thence  she  ob- 
tained her  pyramids  and  mysterious  calendar,  and 
much  of  her  traditionary  lore. 

These  birds  are  remarkable  for  the  nobleness  of 
their  bearing,  and  for  their  bold  and  daring  attitude. 
They  are  celebrated  for  their  courage,  and  as  their 
habits  are  always  in  correspondence  with  their  or- 
ganization, nature  has  endowed  them  with  great 
strength  and  powerful  wings. 

In  American  symbol ogy,  the  Eagle  is  the  proper 
emblem  of  the  "PEOPLE  of  the  United  States,"  who, 
speaking  with  sovereign  voice  in  the  Preamble  to 
their  Constitution,  expressly  show  themselves  to  con- 
stitute the  government  with  power  inherent  in  them- 
selves alone,  to  '-ordain  and  establish"  its  form.* 
This  sovereign  element  in  our  polity,  while  delega- 
ting certain  rights  for  certain  purposes,  as  clearly 

* ' '  PKEAMBI.K  ;  WE  THE  PEOPLE  of  the  United  States,  in  order 
to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic 
tranquility,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote  the  gen- 
eral welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves 
and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  CONSTITUTION 
for  the  United  States  of  America." 


58  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

retains  all  others  not  enumerated  in  the  fundamental 
law.* 

Concerning  this  King  of  Noble  Birds, f  which  is  so 
preeminently  our  national  emblem,  it  would  seem  as 
if  little  should  remain  to  be  said.  Its  prowess  is  the 
theme  of  every  school  boy,  and  the  text  for  every 
orator  upon  Declaration-Day.  There  are,  however, 
very  many  interesting  points  concerning  its  peculiar 
fitness  for  the  grand  central  device  upon  our  ' '  Coat 
of  Arms'"  and  relating  to  the  beauty  of  its  higher 
symbolism,  by  which  we  cannot  pass. 

The  Eagle  is  one  of  the  loftiest  scriptural  emblems 
of  nationality.  J  Though  declared  unclean,  §  it  is 
constantly  referred  to  for  its  courage,  ||  its  swiftness, •', 
its  piercing  eye,**  the  safety  of  its  dwelling,  ff  the 
yearly  renewal  of  its  youth  JJ  and  the  remarkable 
solicitude  with  which  it  protects  the  young  eaglets, 
and  teaches  them  to  fly. 

The  Eagle  was  one  of  the  four  holiest  guardians  in 
the  midst  and  round  about  the  great  throne  described 
by  John  in  Revelations  iv.  There  is  a  striking  re- 
semblance, too,  between  these  four  forms,  possessing 

*See  IX.  Amendment. 

f  Or&er—Raptores,  Family  Falconidce.  Sub-family,  Aquil- 
z'ntz.  See  Crudeu's  Concordance,  Masonic  Trestle- Board  for 
Commandery,  Cooley's  Principles  of  Constitutional  Law, 
Brande's  and  Appleton's  Encyclopedia,  etc.,  etc. 

|  Ezek.  xvii.  3-7. 

§So  was  the  lion,  Levit.  xi.  13,  /.  e. ,  for  food. 

||  Job  xxxix.  29-30.  ^f  Deut.  xxviii.  49. 

**  Job  xxxix.  29.  ft  Job  xxxix,  28, 

\\  Psa.  ciii.  5. 


THE  EAGLE.  59 

the  attributes  of  the  principal  living  beings  of  this 
world  and  the  quadriform  living  creatures  in  the  first 
vision  of  Ezekiel,  "  the  fourth  of  which,  with  eagle- 
face  and  wings,  flew  westward  and  turned  not  when  it 
went  but  went  straight  forward. "  * 

It  is  said  that  when  the  Eagle  sees  its  young  ones 
so  well  grown  as  to  venture  upon  flying,  it  hovers 
over  their  nest,  flutters  with  its  wings  and  excites 
them  to  imitate  it  and  take  up  their  flight.  \  It  is 
also  said  that  when  it  sees  them  weary  or  fearful,  it 
takes  them  upon  its  back,  and  carries  them  so  that 
the  fowlers  cannot  hurt  the  young  without  piercing 
through  the  body  of  the  old  one.  J  In  allusion  to 
this  most  beautiful  trait  we  are  told§  that  God 
delivered  his  people  out  of  Egypt  and  "bore  them 
upon  Eagle's  wings!" 

How  strange  is  this  so  often  reiterated  reference 
upon  our  Great  Seal  to  the  escape  from  the  bondage 
of  Egypt  to  the  freedom  of  the  place  set  apart  for 
us,  under  the  express  favor  of  Divine  Providence. 

From  the  very  beginning,  we  are  told,  God  laid 
out  the  boundaries  of  nations.  And  is  it  too  great  a 
stretch  of  faith  to  think  that  even  at  that  early  day 
this  land  beyond  "Atlantis"  was  left  desolate  and 
set  apart  for  "  the  great  people  "  of  the  latter  days? 

"  When  the  Most  High  divided  to  the  nations  their 
inheritance, 

*  Ezek.  i.  9. 

•j-See  Sec.  3,  Art.  iv. ,  Const.  U.  S. 
{See  Sec.  4,  Art.  iv.,  Const.  U.  S, 
§  Exod.  xix.  4. 


60  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

"  When  He  separated  the  Sons  of  Adam, 

"  He  set  the  boundaries  of  the  people  according 

to  the  number*  of  the  children  of  Israel,  f 
"For  the  Lord's  portion  is  his  people; — Jacob  is 

the  lot  J  of  his  inheritance. 
"  He  found  him  in  a  desert  land, — and  in  the  waste 

howling  wilderness; 
"  He  led  §  him  about,  He  instructed  him, — He  kept 

him  as  the  apple  of  His  eye. 
"  As  an  Eagle  stirreth  up  her  nest,  — Flutter eth  over  her 

young, 
"  Spreadeth   forth  her    wings,  —  Taketh   them,    beareth 

them  on  her  wings, 
"  So  the  Lord  did  lead  him — And  there  was  no  strange 

God  with  him. 
"He    made   him    ride   on  the  high  places  of  the 

earth. 

"  That  he  might  eat  the  increase  of  the  fields; 
"  And  he  made  him  to  suck  honey  out  of  the  rock, 

and  oil  out  of  the  flinty  rock;|| 
"Butter  of  kine,  and  milk   of  sheep,  with   fat   of 

lambs, 
"  And  rams  of  the  breed  of  Bashan,  and  goats,— 

with  the  fat  of  kidneys  of  wheat ; 
"  And  thou  didst  drink  the  pure  blood  of  the  grape. 


*  Thirteen,  or  even  fourteen  Tribes,  as  will  be  shown  later. 
\  I.  e. ,  Jacob,  whose  name  was  changed  by  God  to  Israel. 
See  references  under  Olive-branch. 

J  Heb.  =  Cord,  or  measuring-line — Zodiac. 
§  Or,  Heb. ,  compassed.  \  Petroleum  ! 


THE  EAGLE.  61 

*'  .kejoice,  O  ye  nations — with  His  PEOPLE, — for  he 

will  revenge  the  blood  of  his  servants. 
"And  will  render  vengeance  to  his  adversaryies. 
"And  will   be   merciful  unto  Ms  land,  and  to  His 

PEOPLE. * 

The  Eagle  is  not  a  bird  of  carrion  even  when  in  a 
state  of  absolute  want.  It  eats  raw  flesh,  though 
not  indifferently  of  all  sorts,  nor  that  of  any  creature 
which  dies  of  itself,  but  such  only  as  is  fresh  and 
lately  killed.  It  does  not  prey  upon  small  birds,  f 
Shakespeare  says  most  beautifully, 

"  The  Eagle  suffers  little  birds  to  sing."J 

It  is  a  generous  bird.  It  does  not  devour  the  whole 
prey,  unless  very  hungry,  but  leaves  a  part  of  it  for 
other  birds  which  follow.  They  generally  live  in 
pairs,  and  remain  constant  to  each  other  through 
their  lives.  The  male  and  female  are  usually  seen 
at  a  short  distance  from  each  other,  and  seem  to  have 
a  mutual  understanding  in  their  hunting.  It  is  as- 
serted  that  one  of  the  two  beats  the  bushes  while  the 
other  awaits  on  some  rock  or  neighboring  tree,  to 
seize  the  startled  game  in  its  flight.  It  is  not  good 
for  man  to  dwell  alone,  nor  for  Manasseh  to  be  with- 
out his  mate;  he  is  a  dual  tribe,  and  in  the  sweetest 
sense  it  is  here  that  woman  has,  and  shall  increase  to 
have,  the  full  measure  of  freedom  and  equality — The 
daughters  of  Manasseh  share  the  inheritance  with 
their  brethren. 

*  Deut.  xxxii.  8-14,  43. 

fThe   other  small  and  independent   Republics  upon  our 
Continent  are  safe  against  American  aggression. 
|  Titus  Andronicus,  Act  IV.,  sc.  i. 


62  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

While  the  female  is  detained  in  the  eyrie  by  the  in- 
cubation of  her  eggs,  or  by  the  cares  required  by  her 
young,  the  male  bird  hunts  alone,  and  as  it  is  the 
season  when  game  begins  to  abound,  he  easily  pro- 
vides for  his  own  subsistence  as  well  as  for  that  of 
his  companion.  The  female  bird  is  larger  than  the 
male,  and  seems  to  possess  a  loftier  species  of  courage. 
She  lays  but  two  or  three  eggs  every  year,*  and  fre- 
quently rears  only  a  single  Eagle  at  a  time,  f  It  is 
believed  that  the  Eagle  rarely  mates  a  second  time, 
but  dwells  alone  in  solitude,  near  the  eyrie  made  des- 
olate by  the  death  of  its  companion.  In  noble  traits 
like  these  are  not  the  honest  home  life  of  the  true 
republican,  and  the  noble  grandeur  of  the  woman  of 
America  clearly  set  forth? 

The  Eagle  does  not  permit  other  birds  of  prey  to 
gain  a  tenure  in  the  vicinity  of  its  abode.  Thus  it 
has  its  own  peculiar  doctrine  against  foreign  encroach- 
ment, and  is  unrelenting  in  its  strict  enforcement.  J 

The  Eagle  does  not  even  permit  its  own  young  to 
share  the  domain  wherein  it  is  already  established. 
As  soon  as  they  are  able  to  provide  for  themselves, 
the  eaglets  seek  some  other  region  where  in  equal 
freedom  they  may  rule.§  Thus  westward  do  our  sons 
depart,  and  in  its  rugged  wilds  erect  new  eyries, 

*  These  are  about  3^"  long  by  2^"  through,  of  a  muddy 
white  color,  and  are  sometimes  speckled  brown. 

f  Some  maintain  that  the  Eagle  hatches  its  brood  early  in 
March,  generally  the  laying  time. 

|  Compare  with  the  principles  of  "  the  Monroe  Doctrine !" 

§  See  the  provisions  regulating  the  formation  of  new  States, 
Sec.  3,  Art.  IV.  Const.  U.  S. 


THE  EAGLti.  63 

whence   in  turn  fresh  eaglets  colonize  towards  the 
setting  sun. 

The  Eagle  hath  a  little  eye  but  a  very  quick  sight, 
and  discerns  its  prey  afar  off.  It  looks  into  the  very 
sun  with  open  eyes*  and  rejects  as  unnatural  such  of 
its  offspring  as  will  not  or  cannot  do  so.  f  It  liveth  very 
long,!  and  dieth  not  say  some,  of  sickness  nor  old 
age,  but  of  hunger,  §  for  its  beak  becomes  at  last  so 
hooked  that  it  cannot  feed.  II 


* ' '  But  whoso  looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty,  and 
continueth  therein,  he  being  not  a.  forgetful  hearer,  but  a  doer 
of  the  work,  this  man  shall  be  blessed  in  his  deed."  Gen.  Ep. 
of  Jas.  i.  25. 

f  "The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this 
Union,  a  republican  form  of  government."  Const.  §  4,  Art.  IV. 

fit  is  stated  that  in  the  year  1793,  a  person  caught  at  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  a  falcon  wearing  a  collar  of  gold,  upon 
which  was  engraved,  "  This  bird  in  1610  belonged  to  James  I. 
King  of  England."  It  was  consequently  upwards  of  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  years  old,  and  still  preserved  its  vigor  (Rusch- 
enberger).  They  have  lived  a  century  in  captivity  (App.  Enc.). 

§  Astronomers  inform  us  that  the  Earth  itself  must  suffer 
this  same  fate  at  last.  The  day  will  come,  when  thoroughly 
exhausted,  each  element  having  yielded  up  to  man  the  total  of 
its  energy  and  virtue,  the  whole,  a  darkened,  blackened  sphere, 
its  sun  gone  out,  must,  dead  with  hunger,  move  onward  through 
the  universe!  But  farther  onward,  still,  into  the  eras  of  eter- 
nity, Astronomy  informs  us  that  this  fading  sphere,  worn  out 
by  its  attrition  with  the  very  ether,  food  as  it  were  itself  unto 
the  universe,  will  have  dwindled  to  a  speck,  until  at  last  it  shall 
vanish  altogether,  back  into  that  which  gave  it  birth,  and  out 
of  which,  with  all  its  strength  renewed,  this  very  earth  may 
grow  again  more  perfect  than  before. 

I  See  discussion  in  relation  to  the  Seal  and  the  long  life  of 
the  Eagle,  in  Study  Number  Six,  pp.  257-263. 


64  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

Nevertheless,  the  Eagle  can  endure  very  long  fast- 
ing, especially  when  captivity  or  its  maternal  cares 
force  it  to  repose.  A  common  Eagle,  taken  in  a 
snare,  has  been  known  to  pass  five  weeks  without 
taking  any  aliment,  nor  appearing  enfeebled,  except 
during  the  last  eight  days.  The  capacity  of  its  crop 
is  very  considerable,  and  this  pouch  may  serve  as  a 
reservoir  of  food  sufficient  for  many  days. 

So  with  resource  such  as  hers,  America  need  fear 
no  famine  in  her  borders,  and  should  war  encircle 
her,  her  reservoirs  are  full  for  many  days.  Her  beak 
indeed  may  become  crooked  with  age,  but  while 
within  it  she  retains  the  Open  Book*  she  bears 
to-day,  her  hunger  shall  be  satisfied  with  everlasting 
food. 

It  is  traditionally  said  that  the  Eagle  preserves  its 
nest  from  poison  by  having  therein  a  precious  stone 
named  JEtites.f  Without  this  stone  it  is  thought  she 
cannot  lay  her  eggs.  Hence  this  stone  is  eagerly 
sought  for,  as  to  possess  it  is  to  be  assured  of  safety, 
and  for  a  nation,  of  fruitfulness.  Surely  this 
precious  philter  must  be  within  the  Eagle  nest  of 
MANASSEH,  whose  population  doubles  by  unparalleled 
degrees. 

"The  Eagle  Stone  or  ^Elites  (Greek),  Pietrad'aquila 


*See  Explanations  of  Scroll,  and  Motto,  £  Phiribus  Unnm. 

f  From  aero?,  Greek,  an  Eagle.  A  term  used  by  Pliny  for 
hollow  stones  composed  of  several  crusts,  one  within  the  other. 
By  Kirwan  the  name  is  used  to  denote  those  kinds  of  iron-ore 
^clay-iron  stone)  which  are  composed  of  a  uniform  or  globular 
crust  of  oxide  investing  an  ochreous  kernel— Eagle-stone. 


THE  EAGLE.  65 

(Ital.),  is  fabulously  supposed  to  be  found  always  in 
the  Eagle's  nest.  It  is  of  famous  traditionary  virtue, 
chiefly  as  favoring  labor;  the  Eagle  being  considered 
as  a  prolific  bird.  Matthiolus  relates  that  the  Eagle 
could  not  hatch  its  young  without  it,  and  that  the 
parent  birds  went  even  so  far  as  the  Indies  in  quest 
of  the  ^tites.  Bausch  has  an  express  Latin  treatise 
on  this  topic." 

Of  course,  all  this  is  mere  superstition,  in  so  far  as 
actual  facts  are  concerned,  but  it  may  be  far  more 
than  fable  in  the  Esoteric  sense;  for  the  Stone  of 
Empire  is  certainly  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  nest,  and  Our 
Race  is  more  prolific  than  any  other  upon  earth.  We 
have  cited  sufficient  statistics  years  ago  (Study  Num- 
ber One)  upon  this  topic,  and  the  world  admits  their 
force,  which  now  at  seven  years  interval,  are  statis- 
tically more  potent,  and  more  promising  (prophetic) 
than  ever. 

"When  in  1776,  the  thirteen  North  American  col- 
onies put  forth  that  Declaration  of  Independence 
which  preluded  the  birth  of  a  nation,  the  combined 
white  population  inhabiting  them  did  not  exceed  two 
and  a-half  million  souls.  Yet  they  had  the  courage 
to  throw  down  the  gage  of  battle  to  a  power  '  with 
which,'  in  Daniel  Webster's  words,  'for  purposes  of 
foreign  conquest  and  subjugation,  Rome,  in  the. 
height  of  her  glory,  was  not  to  be  compared ;  a  power 
which  has  dotted  over  the  surface  of  the  whole  globe 
with  her  possessions  and  military  posts,  whose  morn- 
ing drum-beat,  following  the  sun  and  keeping  com- 
pany with  the  hours,  circles  the  earth  with  one  con- 


66  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

tinuous  and  unbroken  strain  of   the  martial  airs  of 
England.'* 

"Fourteen  years  later,  the  first  census  of  population 
was  taken  in  the  United  States,  and  it  was  found  that 
within  the  borders  of  the  young  nation,  there  were 
not  quite  four  millions  of  souls.  At  the  expiration 
of  ten  years,  it  appeared  upon  taking  the  second  cen- 
sus, that  the  population  was  a  little  more  than  five 
and  a  quarter  millions,  having  increased,  between 
1790  and  1800,  at  the  rate  of  thirty-five  per  cent.  In 
1880,  the  tenth  census  of  what  had  long  been  a 
mighty  people,  was  taken,  and  the  total  showed  a 
population  of  a  trifle  less  than  fifty  millions.!  In 
other  words,  the  population  of  the  Great  Republic  in 
1880,  was  their  population  in  1776  multiplied  by 
twenty.  Provided  the  same  ratio  of  increase  should 
be  maintained  for  another  century,  the  mind  of  man 
would  sink  before  the  effort  of  imagining  what  it  is 
possible  for  the  monster  republic  to  be  in  1980.  It 
can  hardly  be  expected  that  the  second  centenary  of 
the  United  States  will  be  celebrated  by  a  thousand 
million  human  beings,  and  yet^  such  would  be  the 
result  of  multiplying  fifty  millions  by  twenty.  It  is 
certain  that  a  century  hence,  no  such  assemblage  of 
men,  speak  ing  the  same  language,  and  amenable  to  the 

*  An  Israelitish  power,  undoubtedly,  whose  ports  close  not 
day  or  night  (Isa.  Ix.  n).  Manasseh  shares  this  honor  in  a 
different  way.  The  sunrises  on  our  Eastern  States  much  before 
it  sets  on  our  Western  coast;  from  Quoddy  Head  to  Attu 
Island  is  125°!  The  U.  S.  center  of  longitude  is  miles  away 
into  the  Pacific  Ocean.  6  P.M.  Eastport,  Me.  =9.36  A.M.  at  Attu. 

fNow  in  1897,  nearer  to  seventy-five  millions. 


THE  EAGLE.  67 

same  general  traditions  of  feeling,  habit  and  educa- 
tion, will  ever  have  been  gathered  together  upon  the 
earth,  as  will  then  probably  occupy  the  great  Western 
Continent."* 

The  scream  of  the  Eagle  is  rarely  heard.  Its  clar- 
ion note  is  that  of  Liberty  awakened  to  defence. 
When  startled  from  its  eyrie  by  the  approach  of  those 
who  threaten  to  invade  its  sacred  quietude,  the  Eagle 
rises  calling  to  its  mate  in  harsh,  alarming  tones, 
replied  to  never  far  away. 

Its  flight  is  most  majestic  and  is  accomplished  with 
easy  and  deliberate  motions.  When  once  aloft,  and 
in  its  native  element,  it  sails  along  with  broad 
extended  wings.  According  to  Audubon  it  can  then 
ascend  until  it  disappears  from  view  without  any 
apparent  motion,  and  from  the  greatest  height 
descend  upon  its  quarry  with  a  rapidity  which  can- 
not be  followed  by  the  eye.f 

*  London  Telegraph,  May  12,  1880. 

f  We  have  a  common  slang  expression  in  this  country  that 
is  founded  upon  fact,  to  wit,  the  one  based  upon  the  modus 
operand! vi  the  Bald-headed  Eagle  in  its  attack:  its  dart  upon 
its  quarry,  and  in  fact  that  of  all  falcons,  is  aimed  at  the  head 
of  its  victim,  and  in  the  case  of  the  Bald-headed  Eagle  usually 
results  in  severing  it  at  the  first  blow — this  is  "  snatrhing  bald- 
headed /"  and  from  it  the  colloquial  slang  is  derived.  Falconry 
is  coming  into  vogue  again  both  at  home  and  in  England.  In 
Vermont  there  are  several  estates  that  arc  stocked  with  birds 
for  the  "  Falcon  Season  :"  a  very  full  description  of  them,  and 
of  a  recent  Falcon  Hunt  upon  Lady  Beresford's  Estate  will  be 
found  in  the  New  Haven  Register  of  April  25,  1897.  Aquila, 
the  Flying  Eagle,  used  to  be  shown  upon  our  one-cent  nickels; 
but  the  ideal,  to  our  mind,  of  the  Eagle  Swooping,  is  the 


68  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

Thus  liberty- once  on  the  wing,  sustains  its  flight 
by  means  of  its  own  buoyancy  and  circles  on  the 
breeze  at  home  in  freedom's  own  free  element, — -and 
thus  descending  from  her  dizzy  height  doth  she 
attack  and  vanquish  every  foe. 

The  Eagle  is  a  very  cleanly  bird ;  it  keeps  its  nest 
tidy  by  the  frequent  use  of  an  herb  called  "maiden- 
hair. "  So  in  the  eyrie  on  the  mountains  of  Manasseh 
there  are  herbs  enough  to  purify  and  keep  it  cleansed 
from  foulness  and  corruption.* — If  we  do  not  use 
them  so  much  the  worse  for  the  eyrie  and  its  neigh- 
borhood. 

Eagles  never  change  their  eyrie ;  the  one  they  build 
for  their  first  abode  serves  them  for  the  remainder  of 
their  lives.  Nor  has  the  Anglo-Saxon  ever  yet  been 
dispossessed  of  a  single  eyrie  with  which  Our  Race  has 
colonized  the  world.  He  has  not  lost  even  those  that 
he  has  reared  upon  the  very  "gates"  of  his  most 
bitter  enemies,  save  when  by  generosity,  as  in  the 
case  of  Heligoland,  he  has  relinquished  them  in 
time  of  peace  and  for  quasi  family  reasons. 

In  selecting  their  abode  Eagles  prefer  the  main 
land.  They  seldom  establish  themselves  upon  nar- 
row peninsulas,  nor  on  islands  unless  they  are  of 
considerable  size.  Their  eyries  are  of  great  extent 

"  prow  on  "  view  of  a  "  man-cf -war  "  under  full  speed.  Between 
an  eagle  bent  on  business  and  a  lion  under  similar  circum- 
stances, there  is  small  choice  to  the  unwary ! 

*  See  Const.  Art.  IV.,  Sees.  2  and  4;  Art.  VI. ;  Amends  I  , 
IV.,  V.,  State  Constitutions,  and  numberless  laws  and  stat- 
utes. 


THE  EAGLE.  69 

and  rest  most  frequently  on  some  flat  surface  upon 
the  highest  and  most  precipitous  rocks.  They  are 
built  of  pieces  of  wood  which  are  often  five  or  six  feet 
long.  But  while  they  have  such  rude  republican 
exterior,  their  interior  is  made  soft  and  warm  with  a 
lining  of  moss  and  fragrant  leaves.  The  height  of 
this  eyrie  also  increases  yearly  by  continual  accumu- 
lation. 

The  feathers  of  the  eagle  are  mythically  said  to  con- 
sume all  other  quills  that  fall  beside  them,  and  against 
the  arms  of  the  American  "  branch  "  of  the  great  "un- 
conquerable "  Anglo-Saxon  race,  what  arms  of  mortal 
forging  shall  be  found  to  prosper?*  For: 

' '  The  Eternal  God  is  his  refuge, 

"  And  underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms!" 

Deut.  xxxiii.  2j. 

Between  the  Eagle  and  the  Dragon,  the  great  enemy 
of  man  and  human  liberty,  there  is  constant  enmity, 
the  Eagle  seeking  to  kill  it  and  the  dragon,  or  great 
serpent,  breaking  all  the  Eagle's  eggs  that  it  can  find. 
But  this  warfare  between  Liberty  and  every  species 
of  oppression  is  drawing  to  its  close!  the  Eagle  now 
has  his  beak  within  the  very  vitals  of  his  adversary, 
chained  forever  to  the  rock  and  far  below  his  own 
lofty  eyrie. 

The  Eagle  moults  every  year,  and  is  at  such  brief 
seasons  of  its  life  extremely  weak.  So  at  the  period- 
ical elections,  both  of  the  States  and  of  our  General 

*  "  No  weapon  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper,"  Isa.  liv. 
17.  The  American  Indians  are  fond  of  using  the  tail  feathers 
of  the  eagle  as  ornaments  for  their  persons,  pipes  and  weapons. 


70  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

Government  we  as  a  people  are  proverbially  weak. 
These  periods  are  always  ones  of  public  depression, 
anxiety  and  danger — but  they  are  also  our  greatest 
national  safeguards  since  by  them  alone  our  future 
progress  is  assured.  Thus  America,  like  her  Eagle 
guardian,  with  youth  renewed,  soon  finds  her  way  in 
the  air  again  as  wonderful  as  ever.* 

Who  cannot  see  in  all  these  traits  and  truths  and 
in  these  facts  and  fables,  deep  meaning  for  Ameri- 
cans! Each  one  of  them  conceals  a  blessing  or  a 
warning  in  disguise,  and  knowing  them  is  to  be  fore- 
armed against  such  evils  as  they  bode.f 

The  American  or  "Bald-headed  "  EagleJ  is  a  native 
to  this  continent.  It  is  of  a  uniform  deep  brown  color 
with  white  head  and  tail,  its  beak  is  a  deep  yellow. 
His  color  in  the  early  years  of  life  is  somewhat  light 
and  striped,  but  after  his  maturity  is  fully  assured  by 
two  or  three  periods  of  moulting,  his  coat  acquires 
its  settled  hue,  which  is  a  compact,  imbricated  and 
glossy  brown. 

*  Prov.  xxx.   19. 

f  For  instance,  as  the  Eagle  often  lives  in  what  is  almost 
"a  rookery,"  so  we  have  suffered  many  harpies  to  feather 
their  nests  in  our  preserves:  while  it  behooves  us  then,  in  mat- 
ters of  Statecraft,  to  let  them  fish  for  themselves,  it  is  safe  to 
feed  the  State  first  and  therefore  to  secure  the  first  fruits  of 
their  prowess  and  give  them  the  scraps — Moral:  Foreign  (alien) 
"politicians"  are  to  be  watched!  /'  e. ,  non-Americans,  whether 
by  Birth  or  by  Bent! 

\  Falco  Lucocephalns;  also  called  Halicetus  Leucocepha- 
lus  (Appleton).  Its  height  is  about  three  feet.  The  extent  of 
its  wings  seven  feet  more  or  less.  It  is  very  generally  distrib- 
uted over  the  North  American  Continent. 


THE  EAGLE.  71 


The  unrivalled  King  of  the  Air,  he  is  a  worthy  rep- 
resentative of  the  genius  of  American  liberty.*  Self- 
reliant,  he  needs  of  heraldry  no  supporters.  Accus- 
tomed to  bear  the  young  upon  its  wings,  and  willing 
to  die  for  them  if  needs  be,  he  protects  himself 
against  the  only  shaft  that  threatens  to  be  fatal— 
one  fledged  with  its  own  moulted  feathers — by  wearing 
on  its  breast  an  escutcheon  charged  with  principles 
that  are  invulnerable. 

"  So  in  the  Libyan  fable  it  is  told 
That  once  an  Eagle,  stricken  with  a  dart, 
Said,  when  he  saw  the  fashion  of  the  shaft, 
'  With  our  own  feathers,  not  by  others  hands 
Are  we  now  smitten."  " 
— ^SCHUYLUS.     Fragment  123,  Plumptre's  Trans. 

*  The  flight  of  the  Bald-headed  Eagle  is  the  swiftest  of  the 
family  of  Aquilinie. 


72  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

"  So  the  struck  Eagle,  stretched  upon  the  plain, 
No  more  through  rolling  clouds  to  soar  again, 
Viewed  his  own  feather  on  the  fatal  dart, 
And  winged  the  shaft,  that  quivered  in  his  heart." 
— BYRON.     English  Bards  and  Scotch  Reviewers*  line  826. 

"  Like  a  young  Eagle,  who  has  lent  his  plume 
To  fledge  the.  shaft  by  which  he  meets  his  doom ; 
See  their  own  feathers  -pluck' d  to  wing  the  dart 
Which  rank  corruption  destines  for  their  heart." 

— THOMAS  MOORE,  Corruption. 

The  Eagle  is  a  glowing  emblem  of  the  same  Divine 
Providence*  that  in  so  many  signal  instances  pros- 
pered our  undertakings,  and  as  such  he  is  with  ad- 
ditional propriety  given  the  chief  place  upon  our 
"Coat  of  Arms."f 

.  Thus  both  the  Obverse  and  the  Reverse  of  our 
Great  Seal  are  symmetrically  balanced  in  that  each  is 
charged  and  to  the  same  degree  with  bearings  that 
acknowledge  ' '  the  one  who  compassed  us  about  and 
.so  secured  our  freedom/' 

The  Eagle  is  an  Magle  till  he  meets  his  doom ! 

''  His  dying  eyes  still  gaze  upon  the  sun." 

No  more  than  can  the  leopard  change  his  spots,  can  he 
help  soaring  at  the  orb  of  day,  and  thus  ever  shall 
Manasseh,  "the  great  people,"  whom  he  represents, 
look  at  the  Light,  forever  peer  still  deeper,  and  be- 
yond, into  "  the  perfect  Law  of  Liberty." 

*  See  Jewels  of  Commandery,  Masonic  Trestle-boards,  etc. 
Mythology  of  the  Ancients,  Brande's  Encyclopedia  of  Science 
Literature  and  Art,  etc. 

f  Deut.  xxxiii.  26-29. 


THE  EAGLE.  73 

As  already  noted,  the  Eagle  in  our  Heraldry  stands 
for  "the  people,"  but  this  being  in  their  executive 
capacity,  it  represents  the  President  who  confirms  the 
acts  of  Congress  (The  Escutcheon)  and  is  the  spokes- 
man of  the  nation. 

An  interesting  account  of  the  famous  "Storm 
King  "  brood  of  American  Eagles  appeared  in  the 
Vernal  Equinoctial  Edition  of  the  New  York  Times 
this  year  (1897),  from  which  we  excerpt  the  following. 
We  presume,  that,  while  cadets  at  West  Point,  we 
have  often  seen  members  of  this  famous  flock  soar- 
ing above  the  eyrie  where  the  selected  sons  of  Manas- 
seh  are  taught  to  value  what  the  Eagle,  as  an  em- 
blem, represents. 

"  The  famous  Storm  King  brood  have  had  their 
eyrie  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  Highlands  probably  for 
hundreds  of  years  before  Hendrik  Hudson  sailed  up 
the  river  in  his  good  ship,  the  Half  Moon.  They 
are  generally  seen  in  pairs,  with  hardly  ever  more 
than  half  a  dozen  together. 

•  "  vStorm  King  Mountain  has  been  so  famed  as  a 
breeding  place  for  Eagles  that  it  is  sometimes  called 
"  Eagles'  Nest."  The  great  birds  build  their  nests 
far  up  on  the  unscalable  cliffs,  out  of  the  way  of 
marauders,  either  in  the  shape  of  man  or  animals. 
The  wilder  and  more  inaccessible  the  shelf  of  rock 
the  more  likely  it  is  to  contain  a  nest  of  Eaglets. 
Sometimes  the  nest  will  be  found  in  some  mighty 
tree,  but  never  in  one  that  is  alive,  always  in  one 
that  is  dead  and  fire-scarred — (safe!) 

' '  The  law  in  New  York  protects  the  Eagle,  and  few 


74  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

are  killed  unless  they  are  found  marauding,  when 
the  law  permits  them  to  be  killed.  There  is  no  law 
which  prevents  or  forbids  their  capture  alive,  yet  sel- 
dom does  the  hunter  venture  after  them  among  the 
Hudson  Highlands.  The  sport  is  too  dangerous, 
even  though  a  young  Eaglet  will  bring  from  $40  to 
$75,  and  an  adult  bird  several  hundred  dollars. 
Sometimes  a  young  Eagle  strays  from  the  fastnesses 
of  the  mountains  and  is  caught.  If  treated  kindly, 
it  becomes  domesticated,  and  although  it  always  re- 
tains its  propensity  to  bite  with  its  powerful  beak, 
and  strike  with  its  terrible  talons,  it  becomes  so  at- 
tached to  its  master  that  even  when  set  at  liberty, 
and  though  it  may  absent  itself  for  hours,  and  even 
days,  mating  with  its  own  kind,  it  invariably  returns 
when  hungry.  A  tame  Eagle  develops  none  of  the 
thievish  traits  so  common  in  a  tame  crow,  nor  does 
it  become  a  nuisance  to  the  entire  neighborhood,  as 
the  crow  invariably  does. 

.  "The  Eagles  of  Storm  King  have,  in  a  great  de- 
gree, lost  their  fear  of  man,  if  they  ever  had  any. 
During  the  shad-fishing  season  they  will  approach 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  fishermen  when  they  are 
hauling  their  nets,  and  are  invariably  rewarded  with 
a  nice,  plump  fish.  When  the  fishermen  are  clean- 
ing fish  on  shore  they  will  often  approach  the  clean- 
ing platform  and  help  themselves  to  the  offal  that 
comes  from  the  fish  prepared  for  salting  and  smok- 
ing. They  have  been  known  to  alight  on  the  out- 
riggers of  a  fisherman's  skiff  and  become  interested 
observers  of  the  process  of  hauling  a  drift  net.  A 


THE  EAGLE.  75 

shad  handed  to  the  observant  bird  on  the  end  of  a 
net  pole  is  always  appreciated  and  taken,  after  which 
the  grateful  bird,  after  a  few  flutters  of  the  wings, 
evidently  its  way  of  giving  thanks,  soars  away  into 
the  fastnesses  of  the  hills,  to  devour  its  quarry  in 
solitude  or  to  satisfy  the  hunger  of  its  voracious  pair 
of  eaglets.  The  shad  fishermen  are  great  friends  of 
the  Eagles,  and  would  not  harm  one. 

"The  best  time  to  see  the  Eagles  of  Storm  King 
Mountain  is  in  the  early  morning.  At  the  first  break 
of  day  they  are  astir,  and  can  be  seen  on  the  tongues 
of  rock  which  jut  out  into  the  river  at  many  points 
of  the  Highlands,  splashing  and  playing  in  the  water. 
This  can  be  seen  every  morning,  except  when  the 
ice  covers  the  river,  and  then  the  great  birds  seek 
some  air  hole,  where  they  perform  their  ablutions. 
The  water  is  never  too  cold  for  them  to  wash  in. 
It  is  a  strange  trait  of  this  bird  that  when  at  liberty 
it  is  clean  to  a  nicety,  but  when  kept  in  captivity  in 
a  cage  or  rack  it  becomes  careless  and  filthy.  The 
first  rays  of  the  morning  sun  are  greeted  by  the  birds 
with  screams  and  demonstrations  of  joy.  Gathering 
their  powerful  pinions  underneath  them,  they  mount 
thousands  of  feet  into  the  air,  screaming  with  delight 
and  heading  straight  into  the  rays  of  the  blazing  sun. 

"  There  is  one  old  Eagle  in  the  Storm  King  flock 
which  the  fishermen  have  named  Harvey  Birch,  after 
the  hero  of  J.  Fenimore  Cooper's  tale  'The  Spy.' 
It  is  claimed  that  this  old  Eagle,  a  male,  has  been 
known  in  the  Highlands  for  nearly,  if  not  quite,  a 
century  He  is  known  from  a  peculiar  droop  in  one 


^6  THE  SEAL  OP  HISTORY. 

of  his  wings  and  his  habit  of  flying  sideways,  and 
the  further  fact  that  he  is  hoary  with  age.  The  bird 
is  supposed  to  have  been  shot  by  woodchoppers  many 
years  ago,  and  to  have  escaped.  He  was  named 
Harvey  Birch  because  of  his  having  been  seen  at  in- 
tervals on  the  particular  mountain  near  Garrisons* 
where  Enoch  Crosby,  alias  Harvey  Birch,  the  patriot 
spy  of  the  Revolution,  had  his  cave,  and  where  he 
used  to  meet  and  confer  with  Washington.  That  the 
name  was  given  because  there  was  an  analogy  be- 
tween Harvey  Birch  and  the  old  Eagle  the  parties 
who  named  him  do  not  seem  to  have  thought  of,  yet 
it  is  doubtful  if  there  was  ever  a  man  more  eagle- 
eyed  and  cautious  than  was  Enoch  Crosby. 

"  Occasionally  a  deserted  Eagle's  nest  is  found  by 
venturesome  mountain  climbers  in  the  Highlands. 
They  are  always  large  and  roomy,  built  of  a  super- 
structure of  sticks  laid  as  nearly  level  as  possible,  and 
bound  together  into  a  mat  by  a  stray  rope  yarn,  oakum, 
or  the  tendrils  and  long  roots  of  climbing  plants.  The 
inside,  which  is  nearly  round,  is  then  built  up  of  turf 
and  grasses,  and  plastered  with  mud,  so  that  no  air 
can  penetrate  it.  It  is  then  lined  with  soft  material, 
such  as  mosses,  old  rags,  or  anything  of  the  sort  that 
comes  handy  to  the  parent  bird,  so  that  the  young 
eaglets  will  be  kept  warm.  The  female  bird  lays 
but  two  eggs,  red  brown  in  color,  with  numerous 
spots  of  darker  color  on  the  shell.  They  are  odd  in 
shape,  being  more  like  a  boy's  peg-top  than  anything 
else,  the  small  end  being  almost  pointed.  The 

*Just  opposite  West  Point. 


THE  EAGLE.  77 

young  birds,  soon  after  they  are  hatched,  are  left  to 
shift  for  themselves,  learning  to  fly  and  seek  their 
food  without  any  help  from  the  parent  bird.  The 
nest  is  destroyed  probably  because,  when  the  young 
birds  are  feathered,  the  old  mother  bird  thinks 
they  are  old  enough  to  shift  for  themselves.  Only 
when  her  young  are  stolen  or  die  before  they  are  old 
enough  to  take  care  of  themselves  does  the  old  bird 
abandon  the  nest  without  destroying  it.  "* 

The  Eagle  is  a  Fisher,  by  nature,  not  necessarily  of 
men,  but  the  type  thereof. 

"The  mainstay  of  the  Eagles  on  Storm  King  is 
fish  which  is  their  regular  diet,  and  when  they  can- 
not find  an  osprey  or  kingfisher  to  rob  of  their  prey, 
the  Eagles  will  sometimes  fish  for  themselves.  They 
largely  depend,  however,  on  the  prey  of  the  fish- 
hawk,  and  wherever  one  sees  an  osprey  circling  in 
the  air  he  may  look  out  for  an  Eagle  the  instant  the 
fishhawk  dashes  into  the  water.  The  moment  he 
rises  with  his  catch  the  Eagle  will  swoop  underneath 
and  chase  the  hawk  upward  until  the  frightened  bird 
drops  his  fish,  which  the  Eagle  catches  before  it  falls 
back  into  its  native  element.  It  is  only  after  the 
Eagle  has  been  satiated  that  the  hawk  is  allowed  to 
enjoy  a  meal  in  peace. f 

*  Only  the  superstructure  is  destroyed,  the  foundations  con- 
tinue— the  Eagle  merely  cleans  house,  as  when  a  new  legislature 
or  election  is  in  order.  It  is  her  way  of  proroguing  Parliament 
and  clearing  the  benches  for  an  airing  before  the  new  arrivals. 

f  This  is  the  type  of  a  principle  of  self  protection  that  it  were 
well  to  put  into  practical  politics! 


78  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

"  The  Eagle,  however,  is  not  averse  to  astray  rat,  a 
cat,  a  chicken,  duck,  or  other  poultry,  or  occasionally 
a  sucking  lambkin.  They  have  even  been  known  to 
help  themselves  to  a  young  calf.  They  are  natural 
robbers,  and  will  as  freely  rob  a  chicken  hawk  as 
they  do  the  fishhawk.  In  picking  up  random  prey, 
however,  the  Eagle  does  not  always  have  his  own 
way.  A  few  days  ago  an  Eagle  near  Garrisons  pick- 
ed up  a  stray  tomcat  in  the  fields,  and  before  he  got 
vary  high  in  the  air  he  discovered  that  he  had  made 
a  mistake,  as  Tom  was  tearing  his  very  vitals  out. 
The  cat  began  to  fight  as  soon  as  his  astonishment  at 
being  picked  up  so  unceremoniously  was  over,  and 
he  bit  the  Eagle  so  badly  in  the  neck  and  throat  that 
the  bird  tried  to  drop  him.  But  Tom  held  on,  and 
with  the  feathers  flying  in  every  direction  the  Eagle 
screamed  with  fear  and  pain.  The  fight  waxed  hot. 
until  the  Eagle  flew  to  the  ground,  when  he  dropped 
the  cat.  Tom  scampered  away,  and  the  bird,  with 
labored  flight,  disappeared  into  the  mountains. 

"These  Eagles  begin  to  breed  in  the  month  of 
March,  and  by  the  middle  of  May  or  the  early  part 
of  June  their  young  are  ready  to  shift  for  themselves." 

By  July  4th  they  are  free  ! 

"It  is  said  that  Eagles  never  mate  with  more  than 
one  bird,  and  if  one  of  a  pair  of  Eagles  dies  or  is 
killed  the  other  becomes  a  hermit  bird  and  excessively 
fierce  and  rapacious. 

"There  is  no  bird  among  the  Storm  King  brood 
but  would  give  the  best  man  in  the  county  a 
hard  fight  if  put  to  the  test.  It  has  been  many  years 


THE  EAGLE.  79 

since  there  has  been  any  report  of  their  attacking  "a. 
man  in  that  neighborhood.  Food  is  plentiful,  and 
the  constant  stream  of  life  flowing  up  and  down  the 
river  seems  to  have  accustomed  the  great  birds  to 
the  sight  of  man,  so  that  they  do  not  recognize  in 
him  an  enemy." 

Finally  Ben  Johnson  says  "The  Eagle  challengeth 
the  first  place,  not  that  it  is  the  best  dish  at  table, 
for  no  one  will  eat  it,  but  because  it  is  the  king  of 
birds."  He  is  the  Lion  of  the  sky,  the  twain  are 
invincible  in  their  own  elements.  "Pindar  the  Gre- 
cian poet  and  naturalist,  speaks  of  the  great  Eagle 
as  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  birds."* 

The  great  cataract  of  Niagara  was  once  a  favorite 
resort  for  this  bird,  but  as  food  has  become  scarce 
and  civilization  encroached  upon  its  domain  it  has 
almost  disappeared  from  the  vicinity.  In  the  Alps, 
in  Norway,  and  even  in  Ireland,  children  of  four  or 
five  years  of  age  have  been  taken  away  by  the  bird, 
so  strong  is  it  and  fearless  of  man  himself  when 
reduced  to  want.  This  is  a  species  of  the  Imperial 
Eagle,  a  specimen  of  which  was  discovered  in  Amer- 
ica by  M.  Audubon  and  named  the  Washington 
Eagle.  It  is  the  largest  Eagle  known  except  the 
Imperial  of  Asiatic  stock  from  whence  it  is  believed 
to  have  sprung.  We  all  came  from  the  East,  for  the 
Lion,  too,  is  from  Arcadia. f 

*  Hence  it  represents  the  Executive. 

\  As  the  Lion,  therefore,  is  the  King  of  Beasts  he  is  equal 
to  the  task  of  subduing  those  of  the  old  world,  and  as  the  Eagle 
is  the  King  of  the  air  he  can  handle  the  affairs  of  this  continent 


8o  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

We  have  already  pointed  out  Manasseh's  heraldic 
right  to  the  Eagle — which  forms  a  part  of  his  own 
name  (Study  Number  Eighteen,  p.  290) ;  this  is  Lyra, 
and  Nasr  Althair,  Aquila,  "the  flying"  rather  than 
"the  wounded  Eagle."  The  emblem  formed  a  con- 
spicuous part  on  Roman  standards,  and  has  lately  been 
adopted,  instead  of  the  spear-head,  on  our  own  army 
standards :  Its  wings  folded  in  confidence  of  victory. 

As  the  Eagle  is  the  Lectern  of  Truth,  that  of 
America  beareth  at  all  points;  his  beak,  his  breast, 
his  talons  twain  are  fully  occupied,  and  his  wings  are 
used  to  service. 

THE  FIELD. 

The  Blue  Field  of  the  entire  Obverse  face  of  the 
Seal  stands  for  Justice  and  represents  the  third  equal 
element  in  our  national  polity,  the  Judicial  Depart- 
ment. It  is  the  field  of  the  entire  symbology.  Con- 
gress (the  shield)  borne  on  the  eagle's  (executive)  breast 
floats  in  it,  and  the  Crest,  a  representative  of  all  three 
reflects  the  same  idea  upon  the  same  Blue  Field. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  here  that  the  Obverse  face  bears 
two  distinct  emblems,  the  Arms,  and  their  synonym 
the  Crest.  The  background  ought  to  be  wholly  blue: 
in  the  final  analysis  the  Eagle,  no  less  than  its  repre- 
sentative Crest,  is  "in  the  clear." 

without  assistance.  In  other  words  there  are  two  sides  to  the 
Great  Seal  of  the  Earth  and  we  can  take  care  of  our  own  side, 
and  mean  to  do  so.  However  the  principle  of  arbitration,  in 
spite  of  Senates  will  harmonize  this  matter  in  its  day;  so  we 
may  work  on  in  confidence. 


THE  ESCUTCHEON. 


"  And  first  a  SHIELD  he  fashioned  vast  and  strong  with  rich 
adornments  *  *  *  Threefold  bright  gleaming."—  Iliad. 
xviii.  539. 


swords  we  draw, 
Tempered  by  mercy,  spare,  but  never  yield, 
'  UNION,'  our  watchword,  God  HIMSELF  our  Shield." 

'  '  Who  is  like  unto  thee  O  PEOPLE  saved  by  the  Lord  —  the 
SHIELD  of  thy  help."  —  Deut.  xxxiii.  29. 

No  one  can  read  the  celebrated  passage  from  the 
i8th  book  of  the  "  Iliad,"  in  which  Homer  describes 
the  Shield  of  Achilles,  without  becoming  struck  with 
its  fullness  of  detail,  when  compared  with  the  other 
parts  of  that  warrior's  armor.  Made  by  Vulcan, 
that  master  of  the  forge  seems  to  have  exhausted 
every  element  of  correspondence  and  symbology  upon 
it  to  give  it  moral  force,  as  well  as  to  have  wrought 
for  him  a  marvel  of  secure  defense.  "With  lavish 
hand  he  scattered  over  its  entire  surface  the  wonders 
of  his  admirable  art.  He  represented  the  earth,  the 
sky,  the  sea,  the  never  weary  sun,  the  moon  at  her 
full;  the  constellations  also,  which  crown  the  heavens, 
the  Pleiades,  the  Hyades,  the  bold  Orion,  and  the 
Bear,  too,  called  by  men  the  Wain,  which  revolves 
ever  in  the  same  regions  of  space,  looking  towards 
Orion,  and  at  no  time  has  any  share  in  the  baths  of 


82  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

the  ocean. " — This  sounds  like  a  paraphrase  of  Job, 
and  came  thence,  we  presume,  to  Homer  in  Dan's 
own  traditions. 

Thus  from  the  earliest  times  the  Shield  has  been 
the  most  honored  of  defensive  arms.  In  modern 
times,  though  its  distinctive  use  has  all  but  passed 
away,*  its  deep  significance  has  continued  to  remain 
among  all  peoples  as  the  emblem  of  supreme  protec- 
tion. In  some  form  or  other,  upon  the  Shield  have 
the  pioneers  of  every  race  placed  their  last  depen- 
dence, and  with  the  emblems  they  were  wont  to  put 
thereon,  for  its  embellishment,  have  they  wedded  it 
to  the  root-ideas  of  every  language.  The  richness 
of  the  Scriptures  would  be  sorely  robbed  were  its 
glowing  similes  withdrawn,  and  following  the  grand 
old  Saxon  Race  through  all  its  wanderings,  blazoned 
with  devices  that  link  its  origin  to  the  noblest  stock 
on  earth,  the  veneration  for  the  Shield  charged  with 
some  lofty  Hebrew  bearing  has  done  as  much  to  in- 
spire the  race  with  fearlessness,  as  have  the  weapons 
in  its  hand  of  might. 

The  Escutcheon  of  America  is  her  glorious  Consti- 
tution, for  that  is  Manasseh's  full  defense  upon  the 
ground  plane  of  his  temporal  polity,  but  the  real 
Shield  of  Manasseh  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 

We  have  already  discussed  its  probable  source  in 
our  Heraldry.  Sir  John  Prestwick  may  have  sug- 
gested it  to  Mr.  Adams,  and  he  to  Secretary  Thom- 
son. There  is  plenty  of  circumstantial  evidence  to 

*  Rather  broadened  and  intensified  in  the  forts,  iron  clads, 
turrets,  pits,  battle  shields  to  machine  guns,  etc. 


THE  ESCUTCHEON. 


show  that  he  did  so,  and  some  direct  testimony  (Boil" 
dmot's)  that  this  was  the  case.  But  the  suggestion 
cannot  be  traced  directly  back  of  Mr.  Thomson's 
own  design,  in  so  far  as  the  mere  emplacement  of  the 
Shield  upon  the  breast  of  the  Eagle  is  concerned,  nor 
its  proper  and  accepted  charging  to  anyone  but  Mr. 
Barton,  unless  we  appeal  to  that  archaic  origin  of 
all  the  perfected  ideas,  which  appears  upon  the  Flag 
of  the  Washington  Life  Guard. 


WASHINGTON'S  SEAL. 


Now  we  accept  as  probable  the  remote  connection 
between  the  Flag  of  our  country  and  the  Arms  of 
George  Washington,  and  have  already  discussed  their 
bearing — by  association  of  ideas — upon  the  topic  now 


FLAG  OK  GEORGE   WASHINGTON'S  LIFE-GUARD. 


84  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

in  hand  (Vol.  I.,  Study  Number  Eighteen,  pp.  30-37). 
It  has  been  shown  in  that  volume  that  the  indirect 
suggestion  to  place  the  Escutcheon  upon  the  breast  of 
the  Eagle  may  perhaps  be  traced  to  the  brave  little 
secondary  supporter  shown  upon  the  Flag  of  Washing- 
ton's Body-Guard. 

Our  Flag  and  the  Escutcheon  cannot  fail  to  bring 
the  Father  of  Our  Country  to  the  minds  of  those  who 
are  posted  in  the  history  of  all  the  matters  with  which 
we  are  concerned  in  this  discussion.  In  Washington's 
Arms  the  Stars  (5 -pointed),  and  Bars  (gules)  are  sim- 
ilar, but  in  ours  their  number  is  varied  for  obvious 
reasons,  and  it  is  noticeable  in  this  connection  that  the 
stars  shown  upon  the  Washington  Coppers  are  5- 
pointed.  Subsquently  to  their  issue  (1783-1792)  and 
down  to  the  latest  issue  of  our  silver  coinage  the  mint 
has  persisted  in  using  the  six-pointed  star,  but  upon 
the  Obverse  face  of  this  present  issue,  which  is  loaded 
with  references  to  the  number  13,  we  are  glad  to  see 
that  the  5 -pointed  star  reappears  in  its  appropriate 
place  and  in  a  scattered  Constellation. 


UNITED   STATES   BAR   CENT. 

In  the  United  States  Bar  Cent  made  in  England  in 


THE  ESCUTCHEON.  85 

1785  and  sent  to  New  York  for  circulation,  the  mon- 
ogram U.S.A.  appears  upon  the  Obverse,  and  the  13 
separate  Bars  occupy  the  entire  field  of  the  Reverse, 
which  is  not  thereby  to  be  regarded  as  cut  up  into  25 
strips.  The  Shield  entire  appears  as  we  have  already 
seen  upon  the  New  Jersey  cent  (Vol.  I.,  page  249) 


MARYLAND   SILVER   COIN. 


It  is  not  inappropriate  to  invite  attention  to  the 
alternate  paleways,  and  chevron  per  paleway,  shown 
upon  the  Maryland  silver  coins  as  early  as  1670-1773. 


UNITED  STATES  SILVER   THREE-CENT   PIECE. 

Upon  the  little  silver  three-cent  piece  (1851-1873) 
the  Escutcheon  is  shown,  and  since  the  discontinu- 
ance of  that  piece  of  coinage  it  has  reappeared  upon 
the  old  style  "Nickel,"  or  Five-cent  piece. 


THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 


Barton's  own  explanation  of  the  Shield  is  as  follows: 
"The  Escutcheon  is  composed  of  chief  and  pale,  the 
two  most  honorable  ordinaries.  The  thirteen  pieces 
paly  represent  the  several  States  of  the  Union,  all 
joined  in  one  solid  compact,  entire,  supporting  a  chief, 
which  unites  the  whole'  and  represents  Congress. 

*  *     The  pales  in  the  arms  are  kept  closely  united 
by  the  chief,  and  the  latter  depends  on  that  imion, 
and  the  strength  resulting  from  it,  for  its  support, 
to  denote  the  Confederacy  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  preservation  of  their  union  through  Congress.   *• 

*  *     The  Escutcheon  is  borne  on   the  breast  of  an 
American  Eagle,  without  any  other  supporter,  to  de- 
note that  the  United  States  of  America  ought  to  rely 
on  their  own  virtue." 


THE  ESCUTCHEON.  87 

In  its  proper  coloring  this  Escutcheon  is  beautifully 
symbolic  of  our  Flag,  *  save  that  its  new  constellation 
is  lifted  from  the  union  or  chief  to  the  loftier,  bluer 
vault  above  to  form  more  fittingly  our  Crest. 

In  Scripture  God  is  often  called  the  Shield  of  his 
people.  "/  am  thy  Shield"  He  says  to  Abraham 
(Gen.  xv.  i),  "  I  will  protect  and  defend  thee."  The 
Psalmist  says:  "  Thou  Lord  wilt  bless  the  righteous; 
with  favor  wilt  thou  compass  him  as  with  a  Shield  (Psa. 
v.  12);  At  least  sixteen  times!  the  Lord  is  called  the 
SJiield  of  his  chosen  people.  It  is  this  Shield  only  that 
in  the  deeper,  more  interior  sense,  the  self  reliant 
Eagle  needs  to  guard  its  offspring.  It  is  this — the 
Shield  of  Faith,  J  that  maketh  the  way  of  the  Eagle  in 
the  air  so  wonderful.  "§ 

An  Ordinary,  in  heraldry,  is  a  portion  of  the  Es- 
cutcheon comprised  between  straight  and  other  lines. 
It  is  the  simplest  species  of  charge,  and  many  of  the 
most  ancient  escutcheons  known  contain  no  other 
bearing.  Primary  among  the  nine  honorable  ordi- 
naries stand  the  chief,  and  the  pale  or  upright  bar. 
These  ordinaries  are  in  their  heraldic  order  as  fol- 
lows: chief,  pale,  bend,  bend  sinister,  fess,  bar, 
saltier,  chevron  and  cross. 

*  For  all  the  beauty  and  the  symbolism  of  this—"  the  flower 
flag  of  land  and  sea"— we  can  only  refer  to  the  grand  work  of 
Adm.  Geo.  H.  Preble,  "The  Flag  of  the  United  States,  '  1882 
Order  through  Our  Race  Publishing  Co.,  Price,  $5.00. 

fDeut.  xxxiii.  29;  Psa.  iii.  3,  xxviii.  7,  cxix.  114,  cxliv.  2 
xviii.  35,  v.  12;  xxxin.  20,  lix.  n.  Ixxxiv.  9,  it,  etc.,  etc. 

\  Eph.  vi.  1 6. 

jj-Prov.  xxx.  19. 


THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 


The  general  method  of  charging  a  Shield  such  as 
ours,  in  heraldry,  is  to  suppose  the  whole  Shield  to 
be  first  emblazoned  argent  below  the  chief,  and  then 
the  six  pales,  gules,  to  be  blazoned  thereon,  so  as  to 
equally  divide  the  whole  body  of  the  Escutcheon 
among  them  all.  In  heraldic  phraseology  this  would 
be  indicated  as,  "ARMS:  argent,  six  pallets  gules;  a 
chief  azure:"  But  as  the  pales  upon  the  American 
Escutcheon  represent  the  thirteen  original  States,  each 
must  enter  the  Escutcheon  equally  and  not  be  bla- 
zoned as  upon  any  other  tincture.  Hence  the  statute 
reads  correctly  as  follows :  "ARMS;  paleways  of  thir- 
teen pieces  argent  and  gules;  a  chief  azure."  This 
implies  that  they  are  to  be  blazoned  alternately,  first 
argent  then  gules,  and  so  on  to  the  end  from  dexter 
to  sinister — a  method  which,  while  the  result  (seven 
argent  and  six  gules)  is  the  same,  has  a  very  much 
deeper  heraldic  signification  of  equality. 


\ 


HfrN 


Thus,  upon  the  American  Shield  there  are  thirteen 
paleways,  alternately  white  and  red :  from  dexter  to 


THE  ESCUTCHEON.  89 

sinister  numbers  i,  3,  5,  7,  9,  n,  13  are  argent; 
numbers  2,  4,  6,  8,  10  and  12  gules.  These  bars  in 
the  order  of  their  coming  into  the  Confederacy  may 
therefore  be  assigned  to  the  several  States  as  follows : 
i  New  Hampshire,  2  Massachusetts  Bay,  3  Rhode 
Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  4  Connecticut, 
5  New  York,  6  New  Jersey,  7  Pennsylvania,  8  Dela- 
ware, 9  Maryland,  10  Virginia,  n  North  Carolina, 
12  South  Carolina,  13  Georgia.  It  is  to  be  noticed 
that  this  is  the  order  in  which  the  delegates  signed 
the  original  "  Articles  of  Confederation,"  and  is  the 
geographical  order  of  the  colonies  from  north  to 
south.  This  is  also  the  order  in  which  "the  unani- 
mous Declaration  of  Independence "  was  signed  by 
the  delegates  of  the  several  colonies ;  so,  too,  it  is  the 
order  in  which,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  that 
Independence  was  acknowledged  by  their  former 
Sovereign,  King  George.  In  Article  I  of  the  Defini- 
tive Treaty  of  Peace  with  Great  Britain,  made  "In 
the  name  of  the  Holy  Trinity,"  the  thirteen(i3)  orig- 
inal colonies,  severally  enumerated  in  this  same  geo- 
graphical order,  are  acknowledged  to  be  Free  and 
Independent  States. 

Following  this  order,  the  above  States  have  alter- 
nately a  white  or  red  pale.  In  it,  Pennsylvania,  the 
"  Key-Stone  State,"  occupies  the  honor-fess,  nombril, 
or  middle-base  points.  By  groups,  the  States 
charge  the  Shield  as  follows:  Dexter,  the  New  Eng- 
land States;  Centre  or  honor-fess  (or  nombril  and 
middle-base  points),  the  Middle  States  (including 
Maryland).  Sinister,  the  Southern  States.  They  all 


90  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

enter  the  Escutcheon  to  the  same  degree,  and  form 
an  equal  support  to  the  chief  above.* 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
names  attributed  to  the  "  points"  of  the  escutcheon 
in  heraldry,  are  taken  from  those  parts  of  the  human 
body  which  the  Shield  was  intended  to  protect  and 
which  it  still  figuratively  represents.!  Thus  the 
whole  of  the  "  chief,"  representing  Congress,  and  our 
Union  therein,  occupies  the  three  upper,  /.  e.,  the 
dexter,  middle  and  sinister  chief  (Fr.  chef,  or  head] 
points.  One-third  of  the  escutcheon  should  be 
assigned  to  the  Head  or  chief  points,  the  remaining 
two-thirds  being  distributed  between  the  paleways, 
thus  giving  to  each  State  -j\ths  of  the  Escutcheon,  or 
a  little  more  than  .  05  of  the  whole.  These  measures 
are  based  upon  the  square  out  of  which  the  Shield 

*  A  chief,  is  a  Fess  removed  from  the  head  point  to  that  of 
the  head,  and  is  held  to  be  one  of  the  most  honorable  augmen- 
tations of  heraldry.  In  forming  such  a  charge  as  that  upon  the 
American  Escutcheon  each  State  pale  has  yielded  an  equal 
amount  of  itself  (^5)  and  then  supports  the  union  (%)  thus 
resulting. 

f  The  order  in  which  the  original  13  States  severally  came 
under  the  present,  or  Constitutional  government,  is  as  follows: 
i  Del.,  2  Penn.,  3  N.  J.,  4  Ga.,  5  Conn.,  6  Mass.,  7  Md.,  8  S. 
Car.,  9  N.  H.,  10  Vir.,  n  N.  Y.,  12  N.  Car.,  13  R.  I.;  but  as 
the  seal  was  already  then  adopted,  and  had  received  its  import 
under  the  confederation,  and  its  use  was  merely  acknowledged, 
and  afterwards  ratified  under  the  constitution,  this  order  does 
not  at  all  appear  to  be  the  proper  one  according  to  which  the 
pallets  and  tinctures  should  be  assigned.  Moreover  unlike  the 
Declaration,  Confederation,  and  Treaty,  the  Constitution  is  not 
a  signed  but  merely  a  ratified  compact. 


THE  ESCUTCHEON.  91 

itself  is  supposed  to  be  shaped  after  the  union  of  its 
parts  or  pales  has  been  effected ;  the  form  of  the 
Shield  somewhat  modifies  the  proportions  which  are 
more  accurate  as  the  Shield  approaches  the  square 
form. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  colorings  of  the  stripes 
on  the  flag,  and  of  the  paleways  on  the  Shield,  are 
directly  the  reverse  of  each  other.  In  the  former, 
the  alternate  striping,  of  red  and  white,  commences 
and  ends  with  reJ,  so  that  there  are  seven  red  and  six 
white  stripes;  in  the  latter  the  tinctures  commence 
and  end  with  argent,  and  thus  there  are  seven  argent 
(white)  and  six  gules  (red)  pallets.  This  interchange 
of  colors  between  the  two  is  very  significant.  The 
assignment  of  the  stripes  upon  the  Flag  to  the  original 
States  naturally  follows  exactly  the  same  order,  from 
top  to  bottom,  as  the  assignment  we  have  already 
determined  for  the  pallets  from  dexter  to  sinister, 
upon  the  Escutcheon.  But  from  this  it  also  follows 
that  whatever  of  the  emblematical  there  may  be  in 
these  colors,  red  and  white,  it  is  all,  when  we  take 
the  two  regalia  into  mutual  consideration,  assigned  to 
each  State  alike. 

The  Genius  of  American  Liberty  goes  forth 
among  the  nations,  not  only  clothed  in  the  national 
"Coat  of  Arms,"  and  "Crested"  with  its  radiant 
Constellation,  but  bearing  in  her  hand  the  Flag 
beneath  whose  folds  she  reaps  the  victories  of  peace 
and  war.  Valor  predominates  on  her  Ensign,  while 
innocence  is  there  to  show  the  nature  of  her  cause. 
Purity  weighs  heaviest  upon  her  Shield,  to  show  the 


92  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

nature  of  her  institutions,  but  blended  well  with  har- 
diness, by  which  her  progress  is  assured.  On  both 
the  blue  of  vigilance,  of  perseverance  and  of  justice, 
weigh  alike,  and  prove  that  in  the  union  of  her  states 
each  one  is  brave  and  innocent,  and  all  are  pure  and 
resolute  in  the  pursuit  of  that  of  which  the  price  is 
said  to  be  "eternal  vigilance,"  hence  the  blue  vault 
itself  which  is  the  background  of  the  whole  Obverse 
device  is  an  emblem  of  Supreme  Justice.  God  is  no 
respecter  of  persons — "All  men  are  born  free  and 
equal  " — this  principle  is  being  demonstrated  in  our 
land  by  a  slow  but  sure  process.  The  Field  then  re- 
presents the  Supreme  Court,  which  is  the  third  ele- 
ment in  our  Republican  form  of  government.  It 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  our  Polity  is  based  upon 
a  Trinity  in  Unity;  Executive,  Legislative,  and  Ju- 
dicial, all  independent  of  each  other,  and  that  when 
these  agree  the  word  altereth  not. 

THE  NUMBER  THIRTEEN. 

But  the  full  discussion  of  the  Escutcheon  intro- 
duces an  important  topic  to  our  consideration,  to  wit: 
that  of  Arithmography  or  number  writing  The 
number  13  is  made  intentionally  prominent  by  its 
paleways  and  the  number  is  one  of  vast  significance 
to  us  as  the  children  of  Manasseh. 

We  are  told  by  Shakespeare  that  "  There  is  divin- 
ity in  odd  numbers;"  Virgil  long  before  had  divined 
"That  the  gods  love  uneven  numbers;"  Lover 
puts  it  into  the  well-known  verse,  "  There  is  luck  in 


THE  ESCUTCHEON.  93 

odd  numbers,"  and  Stephens  into  the  statement 
that  "  The  best  preservatives  are  odd  numbers." 

Be  these  things  as  they  may,  and  noting  in  admis- 
sion that  all  things  are  numbered  and  that  the  lowest 
terms  of  a  quantity  are  expressed  by  its  root,  or 
prime  (all  but  one  necessarily  odd)  factors,  we  shall 
readily  perceive  that  Manasseh's  tribal  number,  ^3, 
is  one  of  special  strength.  It  is  the  second  of  the 
doubly  odd  numbers  n,  13,  17,  etc.,  and  is  a  heaping 
full  or  "bakers'  dozen;"  u,  the  first  of  the  doubly 
odd  numbers  being  a  scant  measure,  although  a 
number  that  is  not  without  its  own  special  signifi- 
cance. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  there  is  but  one  even  prime- 
number  (2);  and  as  the  resolution  of  a  number 
into  its  prime  factors  is  necessary  in  order  to  obtain 
a  conception  of  its  degree  of  odd-ness,  and  of  its 
arithmographic  import,  it  has  always  been  the  des- 
ideratum of  mathematicians  to  obtain  a  simple  rule 
for  determining  whether  a  any  number  is  prime  or 
not.  No  direct  test  to  which  any  number  under 
consideration  may  be  subjected  in  order  to  find  out 
at  once  whether  it  is  prime  or  not  has  yet  been  dis- 
covered; the  investigation  is  a  tentative  one  in  each 
particular  case  and  is  performed  by  resorting  first  to 
inspection  based  upon  some  of  the  simpler  proper- 
ties of  numbers,  and  thereafter  to  actual  trial. 

For  instance  all  even  numbers  are  divisible  by  2; 
they  end  in  2,  4,  6,  8,  or  o.  Triple  numbers  may  be 
divided  by  3;  the  sum  of  the  digits  of  such  numbers 
being  also  divisible  by  3  they  are  easily  detected,  for 


94  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

instance  255  is  divisible  by  3,  because  2  +  5  +  5=12  is 
divisible  by  3.  All  pentagonal  numbers  are  divisible 
by  5 ;  they  end  in  5,  or  o.  This  is  as  far  as  the  mere 
inspection  of  a  number  need  be  carried,  for,  of 
course,  the  non-divisibility  of  a  number  by  2,  3,  or 
5,  throws  out  all  of  the  multiples  of  these  numbers. 
The  first  step  now  to  be  taken  is  to  extract  the  square 
root  of  the  number  itself  to  determine  the  limit.  If 
the  root  is  perfect  we  have  obtained  a  clue  to  the 
factors ;  if  not,  we  have  discovered  their  limit.  The 
next  step  is  to  try  division  by  each  of  the  odd  num- 
bers between  5  and  the  limit  thus  discovered.  If 
none  of  these  prime  numbers  will  divide  the  given 
number  without  a  remainder  we  may  regard  it  as 
prime  itself,  i.  e.,  indivisible  save  by  itself  and  one. 
As  a  practical  test  of  the  foregoing  rule,  take  the 
number  4027:  Query,  is  it  prime  or  not,  and,  if 
composite,  what  are  its  factors?  (a)  It  is  not  even 
and  therefore  is  not  divisible  by  2,  (b)  the  sum  of  its 
digits  is  not  triple,  hence  the  number  is  not  a  multi- 
ple of  3;  (c)  nor  is  it  a pentalphate  number,  for  it  does 
not  end  in  5,  nor  in  o,  hence  it  is  indivisible  by  5. 
4027(63.  Extracting,  therefore,  its  square  root  we 
find  it  to  be  more  than  63  and  less  than 
123)  427  64.  Hence  it  is  not  an  even  square,  and 
^9  63  is  the  limit  of  any  tentative  process. 
58  The  only  odd  numbers  between  5  and  63 
(which  are  not  multiples  of  2,  3,  or  5)  are  7,  n,  13, 

17,  19,  23,  29,  3i,  37,  4i,  43,  47,  53,  59   and   6l    (de- 
termined by  inspection)*  and  as  upon   trial   none  of 
them  will  divide   the  given  number  without  a  re- 
* 49 =  7X7  omitted. 


THE  ESCUTCHEON.  95 

rnainder,  it  is  prime.  The  nearest  composite  short  of 
4027  is  366x11  =  66x61=4026,  and  the  nearest 
composite  above  4027  is  76x53  =  4028.  These  two 
numbers  with  their  multiples  are  the  cog-nates  of 
4027*. 

With  these  preliminary  remarks  as  to  the  method 
of  seeking  the  prime  factors  of  a  number  let  us  pro- 
ceed to  a  consideration  of  the  great  Manassite  prime 
number  13,  which  appears  first  in  order  of  mention 
in  the  Statute  of  June  20,  1782,  in  reference  to  the 
number  of  paleways  on  the  Escutcheon,  the  number 
being  mentioned  again  in  two  other  places  in  the 
Statute,  or  three  times  in  all. 

In  the  first  place  let  it  be  admitted  that  the  number 
13  is  stamped  upon  our  Heraldry  merely  because  our 
Revolutionary  forefathers  wished  to  symbolize  the 
number  of  the  Colonies  that  united  in  disuniting 
from  Ephraim,  but  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  it  is 
stamped  thereon  thirteen  times  more  significantly  than 
even  they  intended — because  they  wrought  wiser  than 
they  knew,  all  of  which  may  be  in  keeping  with  the 
plain  fulfillment  of  prophecy. 

As  the  engraver  must  employ  horizontal  lines  to 
represent  the  Azure  Chief  of  the  Shield,  and  verti- 
cal ones  to  show  the  color  of  the  six  red  or  Gules 
Paleways,  it  will  be  seen  at  once  that  he  can  accom- 
plish his  object  in  the  simplest  way  by  resorting  to 
multiples  of  13.  Thus  the  13  paleways  of  the  Es- 

*As  a  fact  4027  is  the  558th  prime  number  in  the  natural 
series,  and  has  already  been  discussed  for  its  phenomenal  pe- 
culiarities on  pages  182-3  Study  Number  Fourteen  (q.  v.) 


9^  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

cutcheon  can  be  shown  with  26,  or  2x13  vertical 
lines,  and  the  Chief  by  13  horizontal  ones  or  bars. 
The  very  colors  therefore,  are  in  harmony  with  the 
necessities  of  Heraldic  engraving,  and  are  in  full 
cord  with  an  escutcheon  consisting  of  the  partici^ar 
two  "ordinaries,"  chief  and  pale;  all  of  these  hur- 
monies  are  wonderful. 


\ 


ELEMENTS  OF  THE  ESCUTCHEON. 

Now  as  the  Escutcheon  represents  primarily  the 
People  of  "the  United  States  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, "  the  paleways  represent  the  several  States  and 
the  Chief  Congress  itself;  thus  the  elementary  analysis 
by  i3's  is  appropriate  even  in  the  solid  blue  Chief. 
But  in  the  secondary  sense  this  dual  Shield  of  Manas- 
seh's  dual  Tribe  is  significant  of  the  dual  Houses 
whereby  it  formulates  its  Legislative  acts,  to  wit: 


THE  ESCUTCHEON.  97 

the  Blue  Chief  is  the  Senate,  while  the  Paleways 
stand  for  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  former 
speaking  as  it  were  in  one  voice  for  the  nation  as  of 
States,  and  the  latter  by  the  majority  (6+1,  +6=13) 
for  the  usual  two  great  parties  into  which  the  People 
of  a  Republic  find  their  States  popularly  arranged. 
Nevertheless  the  compactness  of  the  whole  gives  but 
one  harmonious  result  in  which  the  minority,  how- 
ever, is  always  sure  of  a  fair  consideration.  This 
even  obtains  in  the  Senate  itself,  wherein  each  State 
has  two  Senators — that  is,  the  representation  therein 
is  intentionally  dual,  as  though  for  a  dual  tribe,  which 
is  an  essential  in  Manasseh.  But  to  return  to  the 
national  number. 

Superstition  concerning  the  number  13  has  given 
it  the  name  of  "the  feared  number,"  although  this 
is  without  any  adequate  reason.  It  has  been  sup- 
posed that  there  was  a  fatality  connected  with  the 
number  13,  and  that  it  arose  from  the  fact  that  the 
calculated  chances  of  death  among  13  different  people 
of  various  ages  were  about  even  in  a  year;  practi- 
cally the  ratio  is  very  much  higher,  and  there  have 
been  a  number  of  societies  or  "  i3-clubs,"  that  have 
fully  disproved  the  reliability  of  the  average ;  one  of 
them  by  a  thirty-fourth  annual  dinner  with  ranks 
unbroken.  Many  have  attributed  the  superstition  to 
the  number  that  sat  down  at  the  Last  Supper  with 
the  Lord,  He  and  the  twelve  disciples  making  13, 
and  He  himself  leaving  the  table  to  suffer,  while 
Judas  left  it  to  betray.  But  it  is  by  no  means  cer- 
tain (though  probable)  that  the  apostles  only  were 


98  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

present  thereat.  There  were  never  less  than  10  nor 
more  than  20  per  lamb  at  a  regular  Passover  sup- 
per— but  that  Last  Supper  was  eaten  on  the  eve 
of  the  Preparation  day  and  "not  on  the  Feast  day." 
In  Jewish  circles  the  number  13  is  in  traditional 
and  high  repute,  and  so  it  is  in  broader  Israelitish 
history.  For  instance,  when  Jacob  blessed  the  sons 
of  Joseph  he  did  not  hesitate  to  increase  the  number 
of  the  tribes  to  13  (Gen.  xlviii.s);  the  tabernacle  was 
made  of  13  kinds  of  material;  there  were  13  tablets 
in  the  sanctuary;  the  high  priest  wore  13  engrav- 
ings, to  wit:  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  on  his 
breast  and  of  God  on  his  forehead  (Exod.  xxviii.). 
The  number  13  occurs  twice  in  the  tetragramma- 
ton  J=io,  H  =  5,  V=6,  H  =  5;  =  26  =  2xi3:  the  digi- 
tal value  of  Bereshith,  the  first  word  in  the  Bible  is 
13,  et  ccetera.  The  number  13  also  attracts  attention 
in  hermenutics.  Rabbi  Ishmael  introduced  13  rules 
for  the  safer  study  and  better  understanding  of  the 
Bible  (Sifra) ;  13  covenants  attended  the  rites  of  cir- 
cumcision (Nedarim  31).  It  is  a  tradition  among  the 
Jews  that  13  of  the  patriarchs  were  born  circumcised  ; 
a  boy  13  years  old  became  of  age,  so  far  as  the  invest- 
ment with  religious  duties  and  privileges,  and  the 
recognition  of  his  marital  rights  were  concerned; 
there  were  13  letters  in  the  names  of  the  patriarchs 
(Midrash),  and  there  is  not  the  slightest  intimation 
in  ancient  Hebrew  literature  to  the  effect  that  the 
number  13  has  a  closer  relation  to  death  or  misfor- 
tune than  any  other  number,  and  that  consequently 
it  should  be  shunned. 


THE  ESCUTCHEON.  99 

There  is  no  trace  of  the  superstition  in  the  Kab- 
bala,  and  in  the  Talmud  on  the  Canticles  it  is  said, 
"As  the  rose  has  13  leaves  so  has  the  congregation 
of  Israel  13  attributes  of  divine  grace  for  its  protec- 
tion on  all  sides"  (The  Manorah,  July,  1895). 

Now  the  introduction  of  the  letter  h  into  a  name, 
as  into  that  of  Abram  (Abraham)  and  Sara  (Sarah), 
was  a  matter  of  special  honor,  of  which  there  are 
several  instances  in  the  Scriptures,  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  h  (J^j)  which  is  5,  into  the  number  13  or  31 
7  5^  (God)  gives  us  the  noticeable  sequence  of  digits, 
153,  which  is  its  full  capacity;  5  being  the  emblem  of 
p<w>er,  and  the  whole  array  being  the  strength  of  an 
"  unbroken  net." 

The  Saviour  appeared  in  the  Temple  as  a  teacher 
of  and  a  seeker  after  truth  in  his  i3th  year,  to  wit, 
when  he  was  "12  years  old;"  the  number  is  a  power- 
ful one. 

Nevertheless  the  mystical  nature  of  the  number  13 
goes  back  to  the  very  dawn  of  the  history  of  Our 
Race;  and  although  there  were  actually  13  tribes  in 
Israel  (perhaps,  counting  Joseph  for  himself,  14), 
they  are  always  enumerated  as  if  numbering  but  12. 
There  are  about  18  such  enumerations  in  the  Bible, 
but  in  every  case  one  tribe  is  omitted;  generally  it  is 
Levi,  once  Simeon;  in  Revelation  Dan. 

But  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  Hebrews  had  some  re- 
gard for  the  number  12  as  the  number  of  "organic 
unity,"  while  13  was  associated  with  revolt,  schism, 
and  apastacy;  the  early  Israelites  "  considered  them 
selves  the  chosen  people  and  therefore  that  they  never 


roo  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

could  be  disintegrated,  hence  they  clung  to  the  num- 
ber 12  and  discarded  13  " — the  which  was  itself  an 
omen  or  a  type,  a  premonition,  or  whatsoever  else 
you  wish — say  a  prophetic  intimation — that  the  final 
number  should  be  12,  and  that  one  tribe  should  be 
omitted  from  the  "  baker's  dozen  " — even  as  it  turns 
out — as  Manasseh  is  omitted  for  his  greater  inde- 
pendence and  blessing  and  the  security  of  a  double 
portion  unto  Joseph. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  all  Israel  remained  united 
until  the  death  of  Solomon.  The  kingdom  then 
broke  up  into  two  parts;  that  of  Ten-Tribed  Israel 
having  its  capital  at  Samaria,  and  that  of  the  Two- 
Tribed  Kingdom,  which  retained  the  Sceptre,  re- 
maining at  Jerusalem.  The  latter  consisted  of 
Judah,  and  temporarily  of  Benjamin,  Levi  not  being 
counted  in  the  12  but  cleaving  to  the  Jews.  At  last 
"  the  Assyrian  came  down  like  a  wolf  on  the  fold  " 
of  Israel  and  carried  them  to  Media,  whence  they 
disappear  from  Eastern  history.  *  The  subsequent 
•captivity  of  Judah  was  only  temporary,  and  after 
seventy  years  they  began  to  return  to  Jerusalem, 
where  they  remained  until  Titus  destroyed  it  in  69 
A.D.  They  were  finally  driven  away  after  the  de- 
feat of  Bar  Cochebar  in  135  A.D.f 

Now  when  the  Jews  rejected  his  ministry  the 
Saviour  specifically  notified  them  that  the  kingdom 
should  be  taken  from  them  and  given  to  a  "  Nation  " 

*  To  learn  how  they  reappeared  in  the  West,  -vide  Studies 
Three,  Four  and  Five,  Our  Race  Series. 

f  Nearly  5  lunar  years  of  years  ago,  5  X  3 54- 36=  1771. So. 


THE  ESCUTCHEON.  101 

bringing  forth  the  fruits  of  it,  and  it  is  manifest  that 
the  Jews  understood  the  intimation  to  be  a  transfer 
to  the  Ten  Tribes,  or  from  their  standpoint  to  the 
schismatic  gentilized  and  practically  lost,  or  certainly 
divorced  branch,  of  Israel ;  for  their  prophets  had  long 
before  asserted,  even  after  its  disappearance,  that 
backsliding  Israel  had  justified  herself  more  than 
treacherous  Judah.  So  they  took  up  stones  to  slay 
him. 

It  must  have  been  the  Ten-tribed  Kingdom  that 
the  Lord  referred  to,  for  it  is  utterly  incongruous 
with  God's  methods  to  suppose  the  transfer  was 
to  be  to  any  particular  and  unschooled  purely  hea- 
then people — if  s0t  to  which?  To  Rome? — the  Fourth 
Empire  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  vision?  Impossible: 
nor  to  any  other  Gentile  people — but  to  "Daniel's 
People  "  (Dan.  vii.  27,  compare  the  Daniel  Chart)  of 
whom  Judah  is  but  an  omitted  twelfth.  So  the  Lost 
Sheep  of  the  House  of  Israel  must  be  found — as  they 
are  that  "  Nation."  (Vide  Study  Number  One). 

Moreover,  we  can  trace  that  kingdom,  without 
Geographical,  Philological,  or  Historical  lapse,  to 
the  Isles  afar  off  in  the  Angle-land  of  the  earth- 
even  to  the  Isles  of  the  Gaels,  Waels,  and  An-gaels, 
and  (unless  our  eyes  are  blind  and  our  minds  shut  to 
the  reception  of  proof,  or  to  the  admission  of  the 
weight  of  argument)  can  trace  the  practical  course  of 
the  empire  involved,  both  literal  and  spiritual,  to  the 
strong  north-west  corner  of  the  earth  (vide  Studies 
Numbers  One,  Three,  Four,  Five,  Nine,  et  ccetera). 

In    this    lo-Tribed    Western    Kingdom    Manasseh 


102  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

(from  his  entrance  as  a  Derian  completing  the  Oc- 
tarchy) was  a  disturbing  element.  His  trans-Jor- 
danic  half-tribe  was-  a  prominent  factor  in  early  days, 
and  his  struggle  for  supremacy  dates  from  Joseph's 
day.  Failing  to  obtain  it,  indeed,  finding  it  given  to 
Ephraim  by  Jacob,  and  he  being  as  it  were  an  elev- 
enth tribe  among  the  ten,  he  eventually  became,  a 
Revolutionist  in  the  Islands  (in  Cromwellian  days) 
and  at  last  a  Secessionist  here  in  the  New  World,*— 
Thus  he,  the  isth  Tribe  of  i3-Tribed  "All  Israel," 
cut  himself  out  with  hands  and  established  here  in 
America  the  independent  nation  which  is  "that 
other  "  that  was  lost  in  the  eye  of  prophecy  from  of  old. 

The  secret  then  of  the  mystery  connected  with  the 
number  13  is  that  it  is  the  number  of  Manasseh's 
tribe,  by  actual  adoption,  and  that  this  i3th  tribe  was 
and  is  the  one  by  which  the  fullness  of  Israel  is 
reduced  to  12, — but  whereby  the  fullness  of  Joseph 
is  therefore  doubled !  No  nation  upon  earth  is  so 
marked  with  this  number  as  the  United  States  of 
America. 

In  the  introduction  to  his  work  on  Arithmography, 
Dr.  Mahan  says:  '•'Thirteen  is  so  amply  treated  in  the 
body  of  this  work  that  I  will  give  with  little  com- 
ment its  most  obvious  meaning.  It  is  the  number  of 
Transgression,  and  the  number  of  Atonement.  The 
first  mention  of  thirteen  in  Scripture  is  in  connection 
with  rebellion,!  in  accordance  with  which  it  pervades 

*  For  much  on  this  important  topic,   vide  "Ye  Compact" 
Leaflet,  Number  Ixv. ,  December,  1896, 
f  Gen.  xiv.  4, 


THE  ESCUTCHEON.  103 

all  History  as  the  symbol  of  separation,  disorganiza- 
tion, revolution. 

"  In  the  form  65  or  5  times  13  *  it  is  the  prophetic 
term  of  the  breaking-  or  disintegration  of  Ephraim.  f 
In  the  form  390,  or  30  times  13,  it  is  Ezekiel's  sym- 
bol of  Ephraim.  '  Note  here  that  Manasseh's  num- 
ber (/.  e.,  the  number  of  his  name)  is  395  or  3  x  13  x 
10, +5,  or  3x13x5x2, +  5.  This  is  3,  Prophecy, 
expecting  Rebellion  or  separation  (13),  according  to 
the  Covenant  (5),  by  assurance  (2),  +  power  or 
strength  (5)  over  Ephraim  (390)!  /'.  e.,  Manasseh  (395) 
has  power  (5)  over  Ephraim  (390)  reserved  for  his  day 
of  separation,  etc.,  etc. 

"The  prominent  place,"  says  Dr.  Mahan,  "which 
I  have  found  this  number  to  hold  both  in  history  and 
in  the  text  of  Scripture  has  been  strangely  confirmed, 
to  my  mind,  by  the  researches  of  one  to  whom  I 
should  hardly  have  looked  for  light  on  such  a  subject 
— the  great  Positivist,  Auguste  Comte.  That  prince 
of  modern  philosophers  came  to  see  in  later  life  that 
there  is  a  moral  meaning  in  numbers  entitled  to  a 
place  in  any  complete  philosophy  of  facts,  *  * 
One,  fzvd,  three,  in  his  system  are  sacred  numbers;  seven 
a  number  of  peculiar  power."  "Above  all,"  in  the 
words  of  a  reviewer,  John  Stuart  Mill,  "he  has  an 
outrageous  partiality  for  the  number  Thirteen. 
Though  one  of  the  most  inconvenient  of  all  small 
numbers,  he  insists  on  introducing  it  everywhere." 

*Note  that  this  is  the  numerical  weight  of  our  Constellation  ! 
to  wit:  thirteen  5- pointed  stars:   i3X5=65- 
f  Anglo-Saxondom. 


104  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

This  is  certainly  an  unlocked  for  witness  to  the 
importance  of  this  mystic  number!  In  his  article, 
Westminster  Review,  July,  1865,  Mill  further  says: 
"  Comte  attributes  great  virtue  to  the  prime  numbers, 
especially  to  those  which  are  doubly  or  trebly  prime 
—such  as  thirteen.  His  views  on  the  subject  are  car- 
ried out  to  such  lengths  that  he  counts  the  letters, 
the  sentences,  the  chapters  of  his  own  productions  as 
scrupulously  as  the  Jews  were  wont  to  do  with  the 
Holy  Scriptures."*  Thus  strangely  do  those  who 
essay  at  independence  of  all  special  revelation,  resort 
at  length  to  systems  which  acknowledge  it,  for  in 
that  the  writings  of  Comte  are  overruled,  in  all  his 
thought,  by  the  very  rhythm  that  Inspiration  itself 
puts  upon  its  own  works,  it  is  manifest  that  in  so  far 

*  For  samples  of  practical  Arithmography,  thus  carried  out, 
any  one  of  the  Our  Race  Studies  may  be  examined :  See  for 
instance  the  Title  pages,  Dedications,  Divisions,  Subdivisions, 
et  ccetera,  of  Study  Number  One,  or  of  this  Study  (Nineteen) 
and  of  its  companion  volume  (Study  Number  Eighteen)  where- 
in as  the  titles,  sections,  etc.,  the  groupings  by  lines,  words, 
letters,  pages,  etc.,  run  intentionally  in  13*5,  i7's,  i53's,  and 
other  factors  appropriate  to  the  topic ;  the  very  "  proofs  "  of  this 
work  have  been  read  in  "takes"  of  13  galleys,  etc.  ;  see  as  an 
instance  of  collateral  association,  a  reference  to  West  Point  on 
page  73  of  this  volume,  the  author's  class  at  West  Point  being 
that  of  '73.  Examine  page  153,  etc.,  etc  ,  in  each  of  the  Studies 
for  composite  idea  collateral  to  their  theme  (somehow  hidden). 
We  may  never  before  have  obtruded  upon  our  readers  the  fact 
of  our  own  recognition  and  employment  of  Arithmography  and 
will  merely  say  here  that  its  careful  use  is  a  powerful  monitor 
and  guide  to  accuracy,  as  well  as  the  revealer  of  secrets  to 
those  who  shall  examine  what  has  been  arithmographically 
written.  This  page  for  instance  is  the  S  Xi3th,  behold,  there- 
fore, we  have  told  you  a  secret  (t  Cor.  xv.  51). 


THE  ESCUTCHEON.  105 

as  he  was  a  philosopher  he  recognized  the  strength 
of  number,  and  groped  after  it. 

All  this  is  blind  evidence  as  to  the  potence  of 
Inspiration,  a  plain  recognition  of  the  very  principles 
anticipated  in  the  Scriptures.  Auguste  Comte  will 
rise  up  convinced  that  Jehovah  sits  upon  the  circle 
of  the  heavens  and  that  the  number  13  is  separation 
itself,  and  the  Higher  Critics  will  rise  up  to  confusion. 

Be  ye  a  "separate  people"  was  the  command  to 
Israel,  /'.  e,,  a  covenant  people.  Now  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  Covenant  in  antitype,  as  His  name  implies. 
That  name  by  the  way  Irjaov?  xPlffT°^  ^s  composed 
of  6  +  7=13  letters,  and  the  numerical  value  of  the 
Greek  words  written  over  his  head  by  Pilate  was  5 
(666  +  777)  or  5  x  T3  x  XII>  *'•  e-i  J3  x  555  which  latter 
number  we  shall  find  to  be  Manasseh's  too. 

In  fact  the  number  13  is  microcosmic  (i.  e.,  related 
to  man  who  (according  to  Bell)  has  208  bones=2  x8 
x  13)  and  therefore  must  be  macrocosmic  or  related 
to  the  universe,  of  which  man  is  the  exponent,  and 
Manasseh  the  ideal.  We  shall  show,  too,  that  it  is 
mezocosmic  or  related  to  the  Pyramid  itself. 

But  we  shall  have  ample  opportunity  to  discourse 
upon  this  number  as  we  progress  in  our  investiga- 
tions. It  is  borne  upon  the  escutcheon  as  on  the 
Flag  which  in  preeminence  it  represents,  and  of  ali 
numbers  it  is  the  one  most  peculiar  to  America,  even 
as  it  is  to  Manasseh. 


THE  SCROLL. 


"And  in  thy  Book  all  my  membei  5  were  written  when  as 
yet  there  was  none  of  them." — Psa.  cxxxix.  16. 

' '  When  the  Most  High  divided  to  the  nations  their  inheri- 
tance, when  he  separated  the  sons  of  Adam,  He  set  the 
bounds  of  the  people  according  to  the  number  [13]  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel.  For  the  Lord's  portion  is  his  people ;  Jacob  is 
the  measuring-rod  of  his  inheritance." — Deut.  xxxii.  8-9. 

"Thine  eyes  shall  behold  the  land  that  is  very  far  off."- 
Isa.  xxxiii.  17. 

As  stated  in  Vol.  I.,  Study  Eighteen,  p.  84,  the 
placing  of  the  Scroll  in  the  beak  of  the  Eagle  was 
Secretary  Thomson's  idea.  The  bearing  is  not  only 
unique  but  solitary  in  national  heraldry.  *  and  it  is 
certainly  as  appropriate  as  unique;  for  the  Eagle 
(M)i£^  NSr  or  Neshar]  being  the  Scriptural  bearer  of 
the  Word,  naturally  takes  the  Scroll  (Sephar  Heb., 
Biblion  Greek)  in  his  beak,  and  lifts  it  up  (fc$]£^,  NSa, 
nasa,  from  the  same  root  as  NSr  nes/iar,  an  eagle, 
whence  [-(j^'j^,  M-NSeh,  Manasseh).  Asa  matter  of 
fact  Manasseh  must  exalt  the  Word.  "  Per  aspera 
ad  astra"  he  cannot  escape  his  mission  nor  avoid  the 
toils  until  he,  too,  has  forgotten  them  by  entering 
into  a  permanent  covenant  with  Peace,  for  He  is  a 

*  The  nearest  approach  to  it  is  in  the  Arms  of  Mexico,  where 
the  Eagle  with  its  beak  bears  up  the  defeated  serpent, 


THE  SCROLL.  107 

prophecy   of    the   millennium   and   has    resisted    it 
hitherto  only  to  his  hurt. 

There  never  was  a  land  on  earth  so  protestant,  in 
its  origines,  as  this;  nor  another  that  has  fallen  so  far 
short  of  its  high  calling.  Its  Pulpit,  Press  and  Poli- 
tics are  now  a  scalene  trinity,  no  two  sides  equal,  and 
the  two  that  should  be  squared  for  right  and  truth 
subservient  to  the  third,  which  makes  policy  its 
measure  of  government,  and  the  almighty  dollar  its 
own  sinecure. 

We  compass  but  the  minimum  of  what  was  prom- 
ised at  our  birth.  We  are  bound  hand  and  foot  on 
every  side;  the  old  world  dragon  has  belched  out 
upon  us  the  full  flood  of  his  enmity  so  that  the  per- 
fect law  of  liberty  is  now  well  nigh  drowned.  Is  it 
not  high  time  for  the  new  earth  to  open  its  mouth 
and  swallow  up  this  flood?*  What  is  the  color  of  our 
Scroll:  White,  or  Black? 

In  the  official  blazonry  of  the  State  Department  its 
tincture  is  Or  (gold)  and  the  motto  is  lettered  there- 
on in  a  nondescript  neutral  tint  (see  "The  Seal  of 
the  United  States,"  Dept.  of  State,  1892).  Can  this 
be  right?  Verily  it  is  fitting  to  our  state  to-day,  a 
day  in  which  even  the  governors  of  "Old  New  Eng- 
land" are  seriously  contemplating  abandoning 
the  proclamation  of  the  yearly  and  time-honored 
"  fast  day  " — because,  forsooth,  as  one  of  them  states, 
it  has  degenerated  into  a  day  of  sports.  Verily  we 
do  not  know  the  color  of  our  own  Book,  and  of  course 
we  cannot  read  our  title  clear  to  mansions  of  peace 

*Rev.  xii.  15-16. 


to8  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

even  in  this  temporal  sphere.  Our  gold  is  become 
mere  tinsel,  and  our  motto  is  thus  lost  by  contrast, 
for  its  own  gold  is  usurped  and  its  letters  are  draped 
in  hues  of  night. 

But  God  forbid  that  we  should  change  our  statutes 
before  we  have  at  least  exhausted  their  import. 
General  Grant's  principle  is  a  safe  one :  enforce  the 
Law  first;  that  is  the  best  test  of  its  value  or  worth- 
lessness. 

This  very  essential  part  of  the  Arms  is  worthy  of 
our  special  attention.  It  is  borne  in  the  most  honor- 
able degree — in  the  beak  of  the  eagle,  and  serves  to 
display  the  national  Motto.  Though  an  unusual 
position  for  the  Scroll  (they  generally  being  placed 
either  below  the  escutcheon,  or  over  the  crest)  in 
heraldry  it  is,  by  its  exceptional  bearing,  all  the  more 
significant. 

In  the  statute  no  reference  whatsoever  is  made  to 
its  tincture,  and  by  some  it  is  considered  that  it  should 
be  blazoned  red  or  blue.  The  silence  of  the  statute, 
however  is  significant,  and  whether  intentional  or 
not  leads  us  to  believe,  from  this,  and  other  reasons 
to  follow,  that  white  (argent),  is  its  appropriate  tinct- 
ure. As  no  color  is  designated,  any  color  that  would 
harmonize  might  be  appropriate,  but  to  select  any 
particular  color  would  be  to  exclude  all  others,  which 
would  be  unwarranted  as  the  law  now  stands.  This 
subject  has  always  been  a  matter  of  controversy.  It 
was  first  broached  by  the  editor  of  the  Columbian  Mag- 
azine, in  September,  1786.  Writing  upon  the  Arms, 
Crest  and  Seal  of  the  United  States,  he  remarks  as 


THE  SCROLL.  109 

follows:  "  As  the  color  of  the  Scroll  is  not  mentioned 
it  is  recommended  to  be  of  purple  edged  with  gold, 
and  inscribed  with  the  motto  in  golden  letters." 

Next  to  white  we  consider  this  to  be  a  most  impor- 
tant suggestion,  and  if  the  wording  of  the  law  is  ever 
to  be  altered  so  as  to  specify  any  particular  one  of 
the  primary  or  heraldic  tinctures,  we  know  of  none 
that  should  stand  between  it  and  white  in  the  order 
of  selection. 

Josephus  records  that  the  Scrolls  from  which  the 
LXX.  made  the  celebrated  Septuagint  version  of  the 
scriptures  were  purple  and  were  inscribed  with  let- 
ters of  gold.  But  the  question  now  is:  As  the  law 
stands,  what  is  the  tincture  of  the  Scroll  ?  In  reply  to 
this  inquiry  we  hope  to  establish  the  fact  that  no 
amendment  to  the  statute  is  necessary  and  that  white, 
the  harmonious  blending  of  all  colors  into  perfect 
Light  itself,  seems  to  be  not  only  most  appropriate, 
but  to  come  clearly  within  the  heraldic  meaning  of 
the  law  as  it  now  reads.  This  tincture  would  harmo- 
nize perfectly  with  the  variegated  background  of  the 
Field,*  and  contrast  most  aptly  with  the  inevitable 
gold  of  the  motto  itself.  It  is  right  here,  however, 
that  is  raised  a  seemingly  insuperable  objection. 
Gold  and  silver  would  then  be  used  the  one  upon  the 
other,  and  a  fundamental  law  of  the  heralds  has  been 
that  except  for  extraordinary  blazonry  "  metal  shall 
not  be  put  on  metal,  nor  color  upon  color."  In  reply 
to  this  objection  we  may  ask  if  this  is  not  an  extraor- 
dinary occasion  ?  The  Scroll  itself  has  an  exceptional 

*  In  those  parts  that  are  near  the  Cloud  broken  by  the  Glory. 


no  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

position,  and  is  borne  in  a  noticeably  exceptional  man- 
ner; why  not  then  intensify  the  exception  still  more, 
though  to  do  so  be  to  violate  this  arbitrary  "funda- 
mental law?"  Before,  however,  pursuing  our  argu- 
ment further  in  this  direction,  let  us  examine  the 
emblem  itself. 


Scrolls  were  originally  the  books  of  the  ancients, 
and  in  heraldry  this  device  is  the  emblem  of  a  Book. 
In  former  times  all  books  were  written  upon  rolls  of 
linen  papyrus,  parchment  or  prepared  "  ram's  skins," 
and  in  latter  days' when  heraldry  selected  its  symbols, 
the  whole  record  of  a  life  was  supposed  to  be  wor- 
thily transcribed  when  on  his  Scroll  a  knight  wrote 
his  motto  only.  Some  of  the  ancient  books  were  of 
immense  length.  For  better  preservation  they  were 
rolled  up,  and  frequently,  where  of  great  import,  as 
in  prophetic  writings,  they  were  sealed  and  stored 


THE  SCROLL. 


1 1  i 


away  in  cases.  *  The  object  of  these  latter  precautions 
was  to  secure  the  documents  from  profane  injury. 
From  this  practice  of  rolling  these  Scrolls  is  derived 
the  word  volume,  from  the  Latin  word  volvere,  to  roll. 
The  Scroll  borne  by  the  American  eagle  is  an  un- 
sealed one,  rolled  out,  and  its  sentiments  openly  dis- 
played. 

Passing  by  for  a  moment  its  special  reference  to 
our  nation,  we  shall  anticipate  by  saying,  that  this 
motto  will  be  shown  to  contain,  interiorly,  within  its 
own  brief  compass,  the  full  complement  of  the  "  Mes- 
sage of  Good  Tidings"  to  mankind. f  The  Book, 
sealed  with  its  seven  seals,  that  no  man  nor  creature 
could  open,  save  He  in  whom  all  tnen  are  one,\  was 
Light  itself,  so  that  thereon  "no  man  could  look" 

*  Generally  in  earthen  vessels,  thousands  of  which  have  been 
found  in  ancient  tombs.  In  this  way  Jeremiah  directed  the 
Title  deeds  of  Anathoth  should  be  preserved,  and  we  presume 
they  are,  at  Tara,  Ireland.  Vide  Study  Number  Five. 

f  Luke  ii.  8-20;  Rom.  xii.  4,5;  I.  Cor.  x.  17;  Heb.  xi.  12. 

\  Rev.  v. 


IT2  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

until  the  seals  were  broken.*  In  its  higher  sense  it 
is  this  Book,  whose  unsealed  roll  the  Eagle,  ever 
regarded  as  the  bearer  of  the  Scriptures,  f  lifts  unto 
the  stars. 

Where  the  statute  is  thus  silent  as  to  tincture,  her- 
aldry can  frequently  supply  the  rule  upon  general 
principles.  But  there  are  cases  where  the  higher 
laws  of  symbology  and  correspondence  (though  the 
rules  of  heraldry  be  apparently  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding) must  be  allowed  the  deciding  voice. 
Thus  the  Scroll  should  be  tinctured  white  notwith- 
standing that  the  Motto  is  necessarily  of  gold,  or  per- 
haps for  just  that  reason,  and  by  white  we  mean  the 
"proper"  color,  not  necessarily  the  heraldic  argent, 
though  perforce  we  use  the  term. 

As  the  statute  is  silent  not  only  upon  the  tincture 
of  the  Scroll,  but  also  upon  that  of  the  motto  (the 
thing  to  be  blazoned  thereon,  and  thus  the  more 
important  of  the  two),  heraldry  steps  in,  and  by  a 
special  principle  decides  that  the  motto  shall  be  bla- 
zoned gold  (or).  But  heraldry  has  no  other  special 
rule  by  which  the  tincture  of  the  Scroll  shall  be  there- 
after fixed.  It  has  a  general  rule,  however,  bearing 
upon  the  case,  which  we  will  consider  later.  Mr.  T. 
C.  Lukens  of  Philadelphia,  referring  to  this  subject  J 
remarks  that  the  Scroll  "might  be  either  red  or  blue 
and  yet  harmonize  with  the  tinctures  of  the  shield. " 

*  Hence  its  silver  light  and  pearl-like  value. 

•)•  Lecterns  are  usually  eagle-shaped,  and  truth  is  ever  borne 
on  eagles'  wings. 

\  See  Letter  to  Admiral  Preble.  page  691,  "Hist,  of  the 
Flag,"  etc. 


THE  SCROLL.  113 

So  far  as  this  mere  harmony  is  concerned,  it  might 
also  just  as  appropriately  be  blazoned  white.  We 
presume  that  as  modern  heraldry  seems  to  forbid  the 
use  of  metal  upon  metal,  Mr.  Lukens  did  not  propose 
it,  though  it  is  one  of  the  principal  colors  upon  the 
shield  with  which  he  naturally  decides  it  ought  to 
harmonize.  Of  the  two  colors,  however,  that  he  did 
propose,  red  alone  is  available  from  his  own  stand- 
point— because  blue  would  not  contrast  (/'.  e. ,  "har- 
monize") with  the  azure  background  of  the  field 
against  which  it  must  find  relief!  It  therefore 
remains  for  us  to  decide  between  the  red  thus  appar- 
ently left  to  personal  heraldry  as  a  last  resort,  and 
the  white  demanded  by  symbology  and  the  ancient 
science  of  correspondence. 

Referring  to  this  very  topic — the  arbitrary  rule  of 
the  later  heralds,  against  "metal  upon  metal,"  the 
editor  of  the  Columbian  Magazine,  in  the  article  above 
mentioned,  makes  some  very  a  propos  remarks.  "  It 
is  not  consistent,"  he  says,  "with  the  dignity  of  an 
imperial  State,  that  its  armorial  insignia  must  neces- 
sarily be  blazoned  according  to  the  general  rules  of 
blazonry  presented  by  heralds.  The  most  noticeable 
exception  to  the  fundamental  rule  in  blazonry  is  in 
the  Arms  of  Jerusalem,  where  metal  is  placed  upon 
metal ! — the  arms  being  Argent,  a  cross  potence,  or,  ' 
(/'.  e . ,  gold)  ' '  between  four  crosslets  of  the  same. "  Surely 
no  higher  authority  than  this  is  requisite  if  it  be 
found  necessary  to  amend  the  statute  and  to  specify 
a  particular  tincture. 

But  to  return  to  a  consideration  of  the  colors  pro- 


H4  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

posed  by  Mr.  Lukens.  We  have  reduced  him  to  the 
alternative  of  selecting  red;  and  to  authorize  such  a 
selection  (as  it  is  a  special  color),  the  statute  itself 
must  be  amended.  Now  of  all  the  colors  upon  the 
Escutcheon,  red  is  the  least  prominent.  "  Red, 
white  and  blue  "  enter  the  Shield  in  exactly  the  pro- 
portions of  |f,  |f  and  |f. 

Admiral  Preble  (see  "Flags,"  p.  755),  speaking  of 
these  colors  in  relation  to  our  Flag,  remarks  as  fol- 
lows: "While  red,  white  and  blue  have  for  along 
time  been  the  ranking  order  of  the  colors  of  British 
national  ensigns,  with  us,  blue — the  blue  of  the  Union, 
the  firmament  of  our  constellation  of  stars — claims 
the  first  place  on  our  colors,  red  the  second,  and 
white  the  last." 

In  one  sense  this  is  so,  in  another,  the  symbolic, 
and  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  somewhat  erroneous. 
Red  covers  more  square  inches  upon  our  flag  than  any 
other  color,  white  next  and  blue  last.  So  upon  the 
field  of  battle,  the  appropriate  home  of  the  flag — valor 
should  predominate,  be  strengthened  by  innocence, 
and  tempered  with  justice  and  mercy.  The  song 
"Columbia  the  Gem  of  the  Ocean, "  is  strictly  an 
army  and  navy  ballad,  and  its  chorus,  to  our  mind, 
properly  enumerates  the  colors — "  Three  cheers  for 
the  red,  white  and  blue  " — as  they  are  upon  the  flag, 
and  as  their  sentiments  should  be  within  the  soldier's 
breast.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  as  we 
have  elsewhere  shown,  that  these  colors  enter  the 
Flag  and  Shield  differently,  and  by  so  doing,  accom- 
plish a  very  lofty  symbolic  purpose.* 

*  See  remarks  on  Escutcheon. 


THE  SCROLL.  115 

But  to  return  to  our  inquiry.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
when  we  examine  the  whole  Seal — (Arms,  Crest  and 
Reverse)  blue  predominates.  1 1  forms  the  whole  field 
and  background  for  the  other  emblems;  so  heaven 
protects  the  union  that  its  color  signifies.  Upon  the 
Escutcheon,  however,  with  which  the  Scroll  should  if 
possible  be  made  to  harmonize,  white  is  undoubtedly 
the  predominating  color.  This  is  as  it  should  be. 
As  a  shield  for  a  Great  People,  innocence  and  purity 
are  far  more  noble  attributes  than  valor  or  persever- 
ance. Indeed,  valor  and  perseverance  gain  their 
most  essential  help  from  the  Innocence  and  Purity  of 
their  cause.  Moreover,  white,  as  a  scientific  fact, 
comprehends  both  red  and  blue  together  with  all 
other  colors.  The  heraldic  prominence  that  would 
thus  be  given  to  red  (valor)  should  that  tincture  be 
taken,  by  statute,  for  the  Scroll,  would  be  very  inap- 
propriate. Whatever  tincture  is  chosen,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  it  is  to  be  raised  to  the  most  honor- 
able position  in  which  the  Eagle  can  receive  and  bear 
it.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  asked,  as  a  matter 
ot  fact,  was  it  our  valor,  or  our  innocence  that  was 
the  primary  motor  at  our  Revolution  and  our  Union? 
In  declaring  their  independence,  did  not  these  "thir- 
teen States  in  one"  expressly  "appeal  to  heaven, 
relying  on  the  INNOCENCE  of  their  cause  "  rather  than 
on  their  own  unaided  valor? 

The  arbitrary  rule  against  "  metal  upon  metal  "  is 
ignored,  moreover,  in  the  very  art  from  which  the 
science  of  modern  heraldry  took  its  birth  and  early 
sustenance.  Nothing  was  more  common  than  the 


li6  THE  SEAL  OP  HISTORV. 

laying  of  gold  and  silver  upon  the  steel  of  blades  and 
shields  and  helmets,  and  of  one  upon  the  other  in  all 
cases  of  mutual  ornamentation.  In  fact,  such  arbi- 
trary rules  as  forbid  the  use  of  "metal  upon  metal  " 
are  pronounced  in  vain  when  uttered  concerning  the 
Arms  of  an  Imperial  State.  However  forcible  they 
may  be  over  the  tinctures  of  personal  heraldry,  they 
have  no  weight  beyond  that  subordinate  sphere,  and 
were  certainly  not  in  accordance  with  the  symbolic 
wisdom  of  Solomon,  who  said,  "  a  motto  fitly  spoken 
is  like  apples  of  gold'm  pictures  of  silver."* 

But  the  higher  and  more  ancient  laws  of  symbology 
and  correspondence  determine  the  case,  without 
appeal,  as  in  favor  of  white  for  the  Scroll.  As  it  pre- 
eminently represents  the  Book  of  Books — whose  light 
is  truth  itself, — so  argent,  or  silver  white,  likened 
among  gems  unto  the  pearl,  among  flowers  to  the 
lily,  and  among  planets  unto  the  Silvery  light  of  the 
moon,  is  beyond  all  controversy  its  "proper"  color. 

This  brings  us  to  our  final  argument.  By  a  gen- 
eral lav/  of  heraldry,  the  whole  controversy  may  be 
closed  up  and  decided  without  any  further  appeal  to 
legislation.  As  the  statute  is  silent  on  the  tincture 
of  the  Scroll,  a  general  rule  of  heraldry  steps  in  and 
demands  that  it  be  blazoned  "proper ."  The  thing  to 
be  thus  blazoned  proper  is  a  book,  its  correct  color  is 
therefore  "white."  Nor  need  the  placing,  on  its 
virgin  page,  of  the  national  Motto  (necessarily  golden), 
be  regarded  from  this  standpoint  as  a  violation  of 

*I.e.,  "a  word,"  "  a  proverb,"  etc.  Prov.  xxv.  n.  See 
also  Cant.  i.  n.,  iii.  10,  and  Psa.  Ixviii.  13. 


THE  SCROLL.  117 

the  heraldic  ruling  in  dispute.  .The  union  of  the  two 
tinctures  is  now  to  be  regarded  as  that  of  a  Golden 
motto  blazoned  on  a  "white"  Scroll.  This  is  the 
necessary  and  legitimate  result  of  a  higher  and  more 
general  ruling  of  heraldry  which  suffers  any  tincture 
to  be  put  upon  another,  "  proper,"  without  reference 
to  the  combination  that  results. 

The  golden  Motto  may  therefore  perhaps  be 
allowed  to  come  directly  from  the  special  law  of 
heraldry.  Aside  from  this,  however,  gold  is  the  only 
appropriate  tincture  for  the  expression  of  its  lofty 
sentiments.  "  E  Pluribus  Unum  "  is  a  central  text  of 
Christianity,  and  the  radiance  of  its  truth  far  exceeds 
that  even  of  the  rarest  topaz,  and  its  price  is  far 
beyond  the  price  of  pearls  upon  the  purity  of  whose 
tincture  it  shines  appropriately  blazoned — Or.  The 
more  general  rule,  therefore,  by  which  an  emblem 
whose  tincture  is  not  mentioned  takes  its  "proper" 
or  natural  color  fixes  that  of  the  Scroll  as  properly 
white. 

Can  we  recover  our  innocence?  Is  it  possible  for 
America  to  cast  off  the  tinctures  that  conceal  her  own 
fair  hues  and  mount  ad  astro,  with  the  only  color  in 
her  beak  that  can  reflect  the  Light  without  destroying 
it?  The  way  of  an  Eagle  is  on  high,  and  we  may 
not  mount,  except  the  volume  of  our  aspirations  is 
enscrolled  upon  pure  white  parchment. 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO. 


"  As  well  might  the  Judas  of  treason  endeavor 

To  write  his  black  name  on  the  disk  of  the  sun, 
As  try  the  bright  star-wreath  that  binds  us  to  sever, 
And  blot  the  fair  legend  of  '  Many  in  One.'  " 

O.  W.  HOLMES. 

"  Therefore  sprang  there  even  of  ONE    *    *    *    So  MANY  as 
the  stars  of  the  sky  in  multitude." — Heb.  xi.  12. 

"So  we,  being  MANY  are  ONE  body  IN  Christ,  and  everyone 
members  one  of  another." — Rom.  xii.  5. 

"  We  being  MANY  ARE  ONE  body."  — I.  Cor.  x.  17. 

We  have  already  touched  briefly  upon  the  singular 
fitness  and  the  mystic  numerical  import  of  this  Motto 


— with  its  thirteen   letters,  its  dual   interpretation, 
and  its  double  reference  to  Manasseh  and  to  all  the 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  itg 

thirteen  tribes  of  Israel ;  it  thus  remains  to  go  between 
the  lines  and  trace  out  deeper  things. 

This  now  famous  national  Motto  was  first  proposed 
for  the  Arms  and  Seal  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  was 
formally  adopted  by  the  Committee  of  1776.  As  they 
took  a  part  of  their  seal  device  from  the  design  upon 
the  Continental  Silver  Dollar  and  from  the  design 
upon  one  of  the  Colonial  Bills  then  in  circulation,  the 
motto  of  this  same  coin  and  bill — "  We  are  One" — 
may  have  been  the  primary  source  of  Jefferson's  pro- 
position. The  idea  of  Union  was  already  universal. 


The  motto  upon  the  coin  and  bill  was  actually  before 
them,  a  Latin  or  French  rendering  was  most  appro- 
priate to  heraldry,  and  the  change  from  "We  are 
One,"  to  "  We  are  Many  in  One,"  as  usually  under- 
stood, but  in  reality  to  "One  Out  of  Many,"/,  t., 
made  or  constructed  Out  of  Many,  was  a  most  nat- 
ural development.  Moreover,  the  Committee  of 
1776  could  hardly  have  been  ignorant  of  this  Latin 
rendering— "  E  Pluribus  Unum  "—which  so  exactly 


126  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

answered  their  requirements,  for  there  were  several 
familiar  sources  from  whence  the  mere  phraseology 
itself  could  have  been  easily  taken. 

Mottoes  in  heraldry  had  their  origin  in  the  war 
cries  of  knights.  They  were  also  honorably  borne  in 
time  of  peace,  and  their  sentiment  was  made  a  rule 
of  life.  The  sword  of  the  true  knight  was  ever 
ready  to  defend  his  "  Cri  de  Guerre, "  So  the  Motto  of 
the  Great  American  people,  borne  in  the  beak  of  its 
symbolic  Eagle,  is  its  war  cry  as  well  as  its  lofty 
guide  to  higher  life. 

It  was  promised  to  Israel  of  old  that  no  weapon 
formed  against  it  should  prosper,  and  that  they  should 
be  so  powerful  that  even  one  should  put  many  to  flight.* 
This  was  a  promise  of  the  strength  of  many  as  it  were 
in  one!  In  grateful  recollection  of  this  promise, 
and  with  confidence  therein,  may  Liberty,  though  single- 
handed,  ever  seek  the  fray.  Ours  is  a  war  cry  that 
when  uttered  in  the  shrill  and  clarion  Eagle-note, 
may  ever  hope  to  strike  dismay  into  the  adversaries 
of  Anglo-Saxon  freedom. 

Taken  then  in  this  connection,  and  having  also  in 
remembrance  the  other  notable  promises  to  Joseph, 
and  to  his  two  sons,  how  pointed  is  the  reply  of 
Joshua  to  this  wonderful  people  who,  even  when  they 
first  entered  Canaan,  and,  finding  their  lot  too  straight 
and  narrow  for  them,  had  come  to  him  complaining 

*  "  Five  of  you  shall  chase  an  hundred,  and  an  hundred  put 
ten  thousand  to  flight." — Levit.  xxvi.  8;  Deut.  xxviii.  7,  xxxii. 
30.  "  One  man  of  you  shall  chase  a  thousand!  " — Josh,  xxiii. 
10.  Judges  vii.  19-21;  I.  Sam.  xiv.  6. 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  121 

that  "The  hill  is  not  enough  for  us !" — Then  "Joshua 
spake  unto  the  house  of  Joseph,  even  to  Ephraim  and 
to  Manasseh,  saying:  Thou  art  a  great  people,  and 
hast  great  power;  THOU  SHALT  NOT  HAVE  ONE  LOT 
ONLY;  but  the  mountain0 shall  be  thine;  for  it  is  a 
wood,  and  thou  shalt  cut  it  down ;  and  the  outgoings 
of  it  shall  be  thine;  for  thou  shalt  drive  out  the 
Canaanites  though  they  have  iron  chariots,  and  though 
they  be  strong."* 

Was  it  not  unto  the  earth  itself that  Joshua  here 
darkly  alluded — employing  the  simile  so  often  else- 
where used  of  Joseph's  ultimate  possession  of  it, — 
even  to  "the  mountain  of  Ephraim"  whose  "deso- 
late heritages  "  were  assigned  to  him  of  old?f  Before 
the  Anglo  Saxon,  have  not,  everywhere,  the  woods 
been  cleared  away?  And  has  not  "  He  thrust  out  the 
enemy  from  before  them,"  saying  in  the  spirit  of 
Manasseh's  own  well  chosen  war  cry,  "Destroy  them !" 
for  ye  are  many  in  one !  and  add  their  inheritance  to 
thine?  Even  the  modern  Agnostic,  Evolutionist,  or 
Infidel  can  find  no  fault  with  this,  as  they  maintain 
the  principle  of  the  "survival  of  the  fittest,"  and  so 
do  \vc — from  the  proper  point  of  view! 

But  as  to  the  source  from  whence  this  modern 
Motto  came  to  us: 

Speaking  of  its  derivation,  Admiral  PrebleJ  remarks 
as  follows:  "The  question  from  whence  our  fathers 
derived  the  Motto,  '  E Pluribus  Unum,'  is  often  asked 

*  Josh.  xvii.  17-18.  °  Isa.  ii.  2;  Mic.  iv.  i,  etc. 

f  Dan.  ii.  35. 

\  See  page  694,  "  Hist,  of  Am.  Flag." 


122  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

but  has  never  been  satisfactorily  answered.  The 
motto  of  the  'Spectator'  for  August  26,  1711,  is 
'  Exempta  Jurat  E  Pluribus  Una'  (Hor.  2,  Ep.  ii.  212) 
which  is  the  earliest  use  of  it  I  have  found. " 

It  was  suggested  by  Dr.  Lieber  that  as  at  the  time 
of  the  Revolution  the  "Gentleman's  Magazine"  had 
a  popular  circulation  in  the  colonies,  the  Motto  may 
have  been  adopted  from  the  motto  on  the  title  page 
of  that  serial.  The  title  to  the  first  volume  of  the 
"Gentleman's  Magazine,"  1731,  forty-five  years  pre- 
vious to  the  adoption  of  the  Motto  on  our  arms,  has 
the  device  of  hand  grasping  a  bunch  of  flowers  and 
the  motto  "  E  Pluribus  Unum."  And  on  the  title 
page  to  the  first  or  January  number,  and  all  subse- 
quent numbers  after  the  first,  is  the  motto  "  Prodesse 
et  Delectare."  The  title  of  the  magazine  says  that  its 
contents  are  collected  chiefly  from  the  public  papers, 
by  Sylvanus  Urban.  On  the  title  to  the  second  vol- 
ume (1732)  the  two  mottoes  are  united  thus: 


Pluribus 


And  these  united  Mottoes  are  continued  on  the  title 
pages  of  the  magazine  a  hundred  years  later,  in  1833, 
after  which  they  were  discontinued. 

A  writer  in  Lippincott's  magazine  (February,  1868), 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  123 

traces  the  origin  of  our  Motto  to  a  Latin  poem  as- 
cribed to  Virgil.  He  says:  "Perhaps  in  the  minds 
of  those  who  first  chose  it  to  express  the  peculiar 
character  of  our  government,  it  had  no  definite 
origin.  It  may  have  been  manufactured  for  the 
occasion.  Certainly  when  it  was  first  used  in  the 
report  of  a  Committee  of  Congress,  August  7,  1776, 
as  the  Epigraph  of  the  public  Seal,  it  was  a  phrase 
too  familiar  or  too  plain  to  need  explanation  or  au- 
thority. But  whether  remembered,  or  reinvented  on 
that  occasion,  almost  the  exact  words  occur  in  a  Latin 
poem  called  'Moretum,'  ascribed  to  Virgil,  but  which 
is  not  usually  found  in  his  collected  works.  It  is  a 
vivid  description  of  an  ancient  Italian  peasant's  morn- 
ing meal,  with  incidental  suggestions  of  his  mode  of 
life  generally.  The  moretum  is  a  species  of  pottage 
made  of  herbs  and  cheese,  which,  with  the  help  of 
servants,  he  concocts  before  dawn ;  he  grinds  up  the 
various  materials  with  a  pestle.  Then,  says  the 
poet: 

' '  //  manus  in  gyrum;  paullatim  singula  vires 

"  Depe rdunt proprias  ;  color  est  E  PLURIBUS  UNUS." 

This  poem  has  been  seldom  noticed. 

A  writer  in  the  "  Overland  Monthly"  says: — "  In 
choosing  a  national  Motto  they  (our  fathers)  derived 
it  from  a  modest  metrical  composition  in  Latin,  writ- 
ten by  John  Carey  of  Philadelphia,  entitled  'The 
Pyramid  of  Fifteen  States, '  in  which  occur  the  follow- 
ing verses : 

"  '  Audax  inde  cohors  stellis  E  PLURIBUS  UNUM, 
Audax  pyramidos  tollit  ad  astra  caput. ' 


124  THE  SEAL  OP"  HISTORY. 

"  Its  title,  '  The  Pyramid  of  Fifteen  States,'  is  evi- 
dence however  that  this  poem  was  written  after  the 
addition  of  Vermont  and  Kentucky  to  the  original 
thirteen,  in  1794  or  1795,  and  the  title  of  the  poem 
was  probably  suggested  by  the  device  on  the  Reverse 
of  the  National  Seal:"  rather,  say  we,  from  the  Ken- 
tucky penny  (see  Study  No.  Eighteen,  Vol.  i,  p.  250). 

From  all  these  notes,  collected  by  the  Admiral,  we 
would  infer  that  the  Motto  was  at  least  well  known  in 
1776,  and  from  its  fitness  (whether  suggested  by  the 
motto  of  the  "Spectator,"  in  1711,  or  from  the 
motto  and  bouquet  upon  the  "Gentleman's  Magazine  " 
of  1731  and  1732  to  1833,  or  manufactured,  or  re-in- 
vented for  the  occasion)  was  readily  grasped  by  the 
public  sentiment  of  the  day. 

But  there  is  a  nobler  derivation  than  any  yet  sug- 
gested, for  its  sentiment  at  least,  and  one  that  we 
opine  may  have  run  somewhere  in  the  minds  perhaps 
of  Franklin,  Jefferson  and  Adams.  This  committee, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  was  so  deeply  impressed 
with  the  heraldry  of  Scriptural  symbolism,  that  their 
final  report  embodied  a  most  glowing  device  selected 
thence  from  still  others  that  had  come  before  them. 
From  the  standpoint  that  we  are  holding  in  this  Study 
we  are  more  inclined  to  feel  that  whatever  mind 
suggested  it,  or  from  whatsoever  intermediate  source 
its  Latin  wording  came,  a  higher  power  controlled  its 
ultimate  selection,  and  disposed  the  minds  of  this 
"  Great  People"  to  receive  it  almost  as  a  Birthright. 

We  refer  to  several  of  the  most  noted  passages  in 
the  Bible,  where  almost  the  exact  phraseology  is  em- 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  125 

ployed.  One  of  them  is  particularly  remarkable,  not 
only  for  its  use  of  the  expression,  but  from  its  Anglo- 
Israelite  sentiments,  and  from  its  reference  likewise  to 
the  stars  of  heaven  so  beautifully  chosen  for  our 
Crest.  It  occurs  in  the  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  He- 
brews, chapter  xi.  8,  12,  21  verses,  and  we  extract 
from  it  as  follows ;  "By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was 
called  to  go  out  into  a  place  which  he  should  after 
receive  for  an  inheritance,  obeyed ;  and  he  went  out, 
not  knowing  whither  he  went.  By  faith  he  sojourned 
in  the  land  of  promise  as  in  a  strange  country,  dwel- 
ling in  tabernacles  with  Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  heirs 
with  him  of  the  same  promise ;  for  he  looked  for  the 
city  which  hath  foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker 
is  God.  Through  faith  also  Sara  herself  received 
strength  to  conceive  seed,  and  was  delivered  of  a 
child- when  she  was  past  age,  because  she  judged  him 
faithful  who  had  promised.  Therefore  sprang  there 
even  of  one  [and  him  as  good  as  dead]  so  many  as  the 
stars  of  the  sky  in  multitude.  *  *  *  By  faith  Jacob  when 
he  was  a  dying,  blessed  both  the  sons  of  Joseph !" 

In  this  passage  St.  Paul  informs  us  from  whom 
(i.e.,  Abraham,  the  father  of  the  faithful,)  "the  many  " 
who  form  his  posterity,  as  from  "one,"  under  the 
councils  of  a  greater  "One  "  are  all  descended;  and 
to  make  the  reference  clearer,  he  brings  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh  into  the  promise  by  a  special  mention. 

But  let  us  examine  this  matter  further.  When  the 
Lord  appeared  unto  Jacob  the  second  time  at  Bethel, 
and  blessing  him,  changed  his  name  to  Israel,  he  said 
to  him:  "Be  fruitful  and  multiply,  a  Nation  and  a 


126  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

Company  of  Nations  shall  be  of  thee."  Now  when  later 
on  in  the  land  of  Egypt  this  dying  patriarch  Israel 
blessed,  by  faith  in  this  promise,  ' '  both  the  sons  of 
Joseph,"  he  transmitted  intact  to  them,  though  they 
were  merely  children  by  adoption,  rather  than  to  any 
of  his  own  sons  (for  Simeon  and  Reuben  lost  their 
birthright)  the  whole  of  this  glorious  promise.*  For 
he  so  blessed  these  children  that  of  MANASSEH  should 
come  the  "  ONE  GREAT  PEOPLE,"  and  of  Ephraim  the 
*'  Multitude  of  Nations. "f 

Joseph  and  his  sons,  and  indeed  all  the  children  of 
Israel  who  went  into  captivity  with  them  in  714  B.c.J 
have  never  yet  returned  to  Palestine.  The  whole 
Bible  testifies  to  this  fact,  and  Josephus  in  the  first 
century  acknowledges  it  explicitly.  They  were  "far 
away,  a  multitude  whom  no  man  could  number," 
when  the  great  sin  of  Judah  and  Levi — the  crucifix- 
ion— was  accomplished.  In  it  they  had  no  part,  and 
in  its  consequences,  such  as  ever  since  have  been  lit- 
erally visited  upon  the  Jews  in  the  Sight  of  all  the 
Earth,  they  have  no  share.  On  the  other  hand, 
"unto  the  uttermost  bounds  of  the  everlasting  hills, 
the  blessings  of  the  heavens  above  and  of  the  deep 
that  lieth  under,  the  blessings  of  the  breast  and 
womb,"  ever  prevailing,  are  promised  to  be  "upon 
the  head  of  Joseph,  and  on  the  crown  of  the  head  of 
him  who  was  separate  from  his  brethren." 


*Gen.  xlviii. 

fGen.  xlviii.  17-20. 

1 717-714  true  B.C.  721  B.C.,  as  commonly  stated. 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  12? 

Called  under  a  new  name,*  and  "in  Isaac's"! 
brought  under  "a  new  covenant,"};  Manasseh  and 
Ephraim,  the  "One  People,"  and  the  "Company  of 
Nations, "  must  be  found  a  blessing  in  the  midst  of  all 
the  earth.  Inhabiting  the  isles  of  the  West  and  North ; 
ruled  over  by  the  seed  of  David ;  possessing  the  ends 
and  uttermost  parts  of  the  world,  with  heathen  em- 
pires as  their  inheritance;  possessing  the  gates  of 
their  enemies ;  identified  by  ten  thousand  other  proph- 
ecies, with  customs,  laws  and  institutions  clearly 
Hebrew,  with  their  Bible  in  every  language,  open  to 
all  nations,  yet  ignorant  of  their  own  descent — lost  so 
totally  as  to  be  themselves  blind  even  to  the  rock 
whence  they  are  hewn,  the  time  of  their  awakening 
draweth  near !  § 

When  the  long-lost  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  buried  for 
a  purpose,  with  their  title  to  universal  possession 
sealed  and  resealed  in  it,  shall  be  found  in  Anglo 
Saxon  soil,  what  human  mind  can  even  faintly  dream 
the  grandeur  of  their  future ! 

But  again,  St.  Paul  writing  to  the  Corinthians,  who 
are  most  mysteriously  of  literal  Hebrew  descent,  uses 
the  remarkable  expression,  "  For  we  being  many  are 

*  Isa.  Ixii.  2,  4,  context. 

fHeb.  xi.  1 8,  /.  £.,  Anglo-Saxons  or  Isaac's  Sons. 

|Jer.  xxxi.  31 ;  Heb.  viii.  13,  xii.  24. 

£  It  is  absolutely  hopeless  to  expect  in  such  a  work  as  this, 
any  satisfactory  proofs  and  references,  of  and  to  these  FACTS. 
Let  the  hearts  of  those  ready  to  receive  the  truth,  search  this 
for  themselves  in  Anglo-Israel  publications,  nor  fail  to  start 
their  search  in  the  early  issues  of  this  very  series  of  Studies. 


128  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

one  bodyf*  and  still  further  to  the  Romans,  referring 
to  "the  new  covenant  with  lost  Israel,"  he  says,  "  so 
we  being  many  are  one  body  in  Christ,  and  every  one 
members  one  of  another."! 

No  more  perfect  symbol  of  Union  can  exist  than 
this,  and  none  is  more  appropriate  to  a  Christian  peo- 
ple, of  Hebrew  descent,  and  certainly  identified  with 
the  "olive-branched"  Manasseh. 

Thus  wondrously  did  the  unseen  hand  of  destiny 
emblazon  on  his  later  Coat  of  Arms    and    Seal     a 
Motto  pregnant  with  significance. 

It  was  the  seed  of  "the  new  covenant,"  sown 
deeply  in  the  national  heart,  ever  since  it  landed  and 
rested  its  two  lobes  upon  the  peninsula  of  James- 
town, and  on  "  Plymouth  Rock,"  that  silently  pre- 
pared this  same  Great  People  to  accept  it  in  the  day 
of  their  foundation. 

It  was  the  Anglo- Israelite  Signification  of  this  Motto 
that  determined  its  adoption,  not  its  Latin  dress — 
that  was  a  mere  accident,  and  a  subordinate  consider- 
ation. In  its  earliest  American  form,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  it  was  sitaply  rendered  into  our  mother 
tongue,  "  We  are  One." 

Thus  it  was  the  English  Bible,  warmed  at  the  hearth- 
stones of  our  homely  ancestral  firesides  long  before 
our  independence  had  been  dreamed  of,  that  had  given 
to  our  forefathers  an  appreciation  for  that  loftier 
epigram  of  more  eternal  union — "Many  in  One." 
From  frequent  readings  of  the  Scriptures,  and  from 

*i  Cor.  x.  17. 
\  Rom.  xii.  3-6. 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  129 

every  day  familiarity  with  its  honored  phrases,  their 
minds  had  been  unconsciously  prepared  to  recognize 
the  beauty  of  this  Motto  as  soon  as  it  was  proposed. 
Probably  they  had  never  seen  a  Latin  Bible,  and  even 
had  they  read  the  Holy  Writ  familiarly  in  such  a 
tongue,  the  Latin  rendering  of  this  same  sentiment 
would  have  been  found  in  different  clothing. 

We  do  not  for  a  moment  therefore,  advance  the 
theory  that  they  took  the  Latin  motto  from  a  Latin 
copy  of  the  Scriptures,  or  even  that  indeed  they 
thought  of  it  as  buried  so  intensely  in  the  Gospel  of 
Salvation.  What  we  do  claim,  and  conclusively  point 
out,  is  this:  that  the  grandest  idea  of  Union  ever 
uttered  to  the  human  ear  is  rendered  in  our  English 
Bibles  by  the  same  translation  as  has  ever  been  the 
one  more  familiarly  attached  to  the  Motto  on  our 
Arms;  and  that  (whether  or  not  remembering  its 
lofty  associations),  that  very  Book  had  silently  pre- 
pared the  hearts  of  this  Great  People  to  appreciate 
its  beauty. 

MOGRAPHY  AND  ARITHMOGRAPHY. 

But  in  any  full  discussion  of  the  significance  of  the 
mottoes  upon  the  Great  Seal,  we  shall  have  to  deal 
primarily  with  the  Latin  language  in  which  they  are 
all  written.  It  was  a  dual  or  numerical  language, 
for  the  Romans,  like  the  Greeks  and  Hebrews,  used 
their  own  letters  to  indicate  numerical  values,  and 
we  moderns  have  inherited  this  method  from  the 
Latin  language. 

Our  readers  are  supposed  to  be  more  or  less  famil- 


130  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

iar  with  what  we  still  term  the  Roman  system  of 
enumeration.  We  employ  it  in  chronology,  upon 
inscriptions,  in  chapter  headings,  in  classification,  et 
catera.  Thus  we  find  MDCCLXXVI.  for  1776,  en- 
graved upon  the  base  of  the  Unfinished  Pyramid 
shown  on  the  Reverse  face  of  the  Great  Seal.  It  is 
the  Date  of  its  foundation,  according  to  the  Roman 
method,  whose  further  arithmographical  application 
we  are  now  to  consider.  In  the  Statute  of  June  20, 
1782,  this  date  is  specified  as  "the  numerical  letters 
MDCCLXXVI.,"  thus,  Arithmography  is  recognized. 
But  the  difficulty  in  any  such  discussion  as  the  one 
upon  which  we  have  embarked,  is  not  only  to  deter- 
mine where  to  begin,  but  how  far  to  proceed  in  each 
direction ;  for  one  must  avoid  coming  short  of  estab- 
lishing what  may  be  termed  by  some  ' '  a  mere  isolated 
coincidence,"  and  at  the  same  time  stop  short  of  over- 
whelming the  mind  of  the  reader  with  a  pleroma  of 
proof.  We  shall  aim  to  avoid  both  of  these  extremes, 
but  must  state  plainly  that  such  is  the  oneness  or 
harmony  of  the  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  that  there  is  not  an  emblem  or  motto  in  its 
whole  concert  that  is  not  directly  related  to  the  in- 
strument as  a  whole,  and  at  the  same  time  severally 
to  all  of  its  parts,  and  that  the  governing  arithmog- 
raphy  of  the  design  from  general  to  particular  is 
couched  in  the  terms  of  the  very  same  physical  factors 
of  modern  science  that  have  already  been  pointed  out 
as  veiled  in  the  numerical  language  of  inspiration 
itself.*  In  each  case  men  have  wrought  wiser  than 
*  See  News-Leaflet,  Ixix.-lxx.,  April,  1897. 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  131 

they  knew.  There  now  can  be  no  doubt  of  this,  and 
consequently  Providence  alone  can  have  overruled 
the  results,  and  lo,  at  the  very  end  of  the  age  permits 
their  interpretation,  or  revelation,  /.  e.,  their  discovery 
and  unveiling,  in  order  to  beget  belief  from  any  who 
have  preserved  the  seeds  of  faith  in  such  an  age  of 
waning  belief  as  this  in  which  we  live. 

And  it  will  therefore  be  perceived  how  necessary  it 
was  to  separate  our  own  discussion  of  the  Great  Seal 
into  two  parts  or  volumes.  By  so  doing,  we  have 
divided  the  letter  as  it  were,  from  the  spirit,  as  much 
as  possible,  and  recognized  the  fact  that  Manasseh 
himself  is  a  dual  tribe,  and  that  his  elements  as  yet 
are  not  all  "  wise"  (Matt.  xxv.  2). 

In  that,  therefore,  we  have  first  established 
the  actual  history  of  the  instrument,  and  the  contem- 
poraneous interpretation  of  the  fathers  according  to  all 
the  transmitted  facts,  it  follows  that  whatsoever  more 
than  these  shall  now  appear,  must  be  regarded  as 
of  a  superior  degree  to  what  the  fathers  knew  and  in- 
tended ;  and  if  the  findings  shall  appear  to  be  in  unique 
and  astonishing  relations,  we  must  be  allowed  to  press 
our  contention  as  to  their  inspiration  as  such,  and 
according  to  degree,  and  this  without  the  charge  of 
extravagance  being  raised  in  the  premises — since  we 
have  forestalled  all  that  by  stating  all  the  known  facts 
in  Volume  I.,  and  are  now  merely  interpreting  them. 

Now  this  subject  is  one  of  the  mcst  mysterious 
phases  of  the  inspired  word  of  God  (/.  e.,  in  the  origi- 
nal text),  and  its  mastery  lies  at  the  very  threshold 
of  the  "  Highest  Criticism  "  that  can  be  brought  to 


132  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

bear  upon  the  Scriptures.  For,  as  already  pointed 
out  a  number  of  times,  and  exhaustively  introduced 
in  Leaflet  Number  LXIX.-LXX.  (The  Digital  Values 
of  Genesis  i.  i)  the  Languages  of  Inspiration  are  dual 
(numerical  as  well  as  literal)  and  both  phases  of  its 
significance  are  involved  in  its  full  interpretation. 
We  shall  refer  here  to  only  a  few  of  the  Arithmo- 
graphic  relations  which  are  generic  to  our  own  topic 
which  is  the  Significance  of  the  Seal  of  Manasseh,  the 
Great  People  set  apart  as  the  Branch  of  Joseph  that 
ran  over  the  wall.  The  Romans  had  but  seven  let- 
ters to  which,  in  ordinary  Arithmography,  they 
assigned  numerical  values,  to  wit  :  I=i,  V=5,  X=io, 
L=5o,  C=ioo,  D  =  5oo,  and  M=iooo.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  they  divide  naturally  into  three  groups, 
and  a  fourth,  which  sum  up  1+5  =  6,  10  +  50=60, 
100  +  500=600,  and  1000  ;  that  the  first  6  sum  up  to 
666,  the  mystical  number  of  Antichrist,  and  that  the 
sum  of  the  entire  alphabet  is  1666. 

Now,  wherever  these  letters  occur,  as  for  instance 
in  names,  inscriptions,  mottoes,  et  cietera,  they  retain 
their  numerical  values,  so  that  by  virtue  thereof  we 
may  count  the  number  of  the  name  or  motto  in  ques- 
tion. Take  for  instance:  VICARlVs  rlLII  DE!, 
"  The  Vicar*  of  the  Son  of  God,"  the  motto  over  the 
Vatican,!  it  counts  up  112  +  53  +  501=666,  which  is 
the  number  of  a  man,  to  wit:  Romiith 


*  Vicar  means  Substitute. 

f  Some  say  still  embroidered  on  the  Pope's  mitre,  others  that 
the  word  embroidered  thereon  is  Chrees,  which  also  is  666  in 
value. 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  133 


manus  (^j^)£i"*))  or  Latinus  \areiroZ  each  of  which 
are  666  in  Hebrew  and  Greek  respectively.  With  this 
topic  in  some  of  its  variations,  most  all  of  our  readers 
will  now  perceive  themselves  to  be  somewhat  famil- 
iar, and  we  are  ready  upon  this  basis  to  proceed  to  a 
study  of  the  Arithmography,  or  concealed  numerical 
significance,  of  our  national  mottoes,  beginning  with 
that  of  "  E  Pluribus  Unum.  " 

Written  in  numerical  Latin  this  motto  is  "E  pLV- 
RlnVs  VNVM."  Hence  its  value  is  (50  +  5  +  1+5  =  ) 
61+  (5  +5  +  iooo=)ioio,  =  io7i. 

Now  we  notice  first  that  this  number  1071  is  the 
value  of  the  Greek  word  Gvyn\rjpovo^.oit  sugklcrono- 
moi,  or  "joint-heirs,"  used  by  Saint  Paul  in  the  Epis- 
tle to  the  Romans  (viii.  17)  to  define  those  who  are 
"many  in  One,"  and  its  harmony  with  the  higher 
signification  of  the  Motto  itself  already  alluded  to 
above  is  most  remarkable.* 

The  number  71  is  that  of  the  names  John  and 
Jonah,  and  1000  is  that  of  the  Millennial  Reign  of 
Christ  ;  7  1  is  also  the  number  of  the  Dove,  and  is  the 
nearest  whole-number-square-root  of  the  famous 
Pythagorean  number  5040  =  2x2520:  for  71x71  = 
5041  :f  71  is  also  \  of  355,  or  Shanah  whose  relation 
to  the  7r-ratio  through  the  fundamental  number  113, 
of  a  man,  Aish,  we  have  frequently  pointed  out. 


*  Compare  articles  of  J.  H.  Weldon  on  the  Great  Seal,  in  the 
"International  Standard,"  July,  1885,  and  of  H.  A.  Powers  in 
•  Our  Rest"  of  July.  1878. 

f  5040  is  likewise  the  number  of  Permutations  of  the  first  7 
numbers,  iX2X3X4X5X6X7=5°4°- 


134  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

Now  this  relation  is  direct,  for  5  x  72  =  360  of  which 
7  go  to  make  2520;  and  5x73  =  365,  which  is  the 
Nabonassan  year  of  Menophres,  of  which  1461  go  to 
make  a  cycle.*  It  is  the  most  accurate  chronological 
"  measure"  known. 

It  has  been  shown  in  Leaflet  Number  LXIX.-LXX. 
("  The  Physical  Factors  Veiled  in  Genesis  i.  i  ")  that 
El  or  31  when  raised  to  the  plural,  Alohim,  and  bent 
upon  a  circle,  is  31415,  now  in  the  same  way  Aish,  or 
113,  raised  to  the  plural  form  Q^'2^,  Anashim,  men, 
and  bent  upon  a  circle  is  31415.  Thus  "men,"  who 
are  but  little  lower  than  the  "angels"  (in  the  subor- 
dinate sense  that  the  latter  are  the  Alohim  or  gods)  are 
a  parallel  creation  with  perhaps  a  loftier  future  (  Ps. 
viii.  5;  Heb.  ii.  7,  9). 

Now  this  very  ratio,  upon  which  the  heavens  and 
its  occupants,  and  the  earth  and  its  own  denizens  have 
all  been  constructed,  numbered  and  measured,  has 
been  overruled  into  all  the  features  of  Manasseh's 
Seal  that  looks  of  course  towards  millennial  days 
alone  for  its  most  perfect  satisfaction,  that  is,  towards 
a  new  order  of  the  ages  as  a  fact  rather  than  a  failure, 
Manasseh  is  more  than  a  mere  type  —  his  union  is  an 
antitype  destined,  we  believe,  to  merge  or  pass  into 
the  Day  of  Rest  itself  —  that  "  remaineth  to  Israel." 

But  as  this  Motto  is  the  chief  one  on  the  Seal  of 
Manasseh,  the  eagle  bearer,  whose  name  is  Peace,  it 
behooves  us  to  count  the  number  of  his  name  before 
we  proceed  further.  It  occurs  in  two  forms 


*  One-third  of  which  gives  a  near  outside  whole  number  re- 
lation to  the  height  of  the  Great  Pyramid  in  English  feet. 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  135 


-395,  and  32=  400,  or  digitally  355-354,  and  1-354 
respectively,  which  latter  values  are  at  once  sugges- 
tive of  the  lunar  year,  while  the  value  400  is  sugges- 
tive of  the  digital  value  (4)  of  the  initial  letter  itself 
(£)  of  his  own  name.  The  usual  number  395,  is  2  x  3 

x  5  *  i3i  +  5;  or  5  *79=5  (2  x  3  x  13+1),  in  which  the 
numbers  5  and  13  are  as  prominent  as  they  are  in 
Manasseh's  history  and  heraldry.  The  sum  of  the 
digits  in  395  is  17,  one  of  our  most  important  factors,* 
while  their  product  is  135,  which  is  but  another  form 
of  153  when  written  on  a  circle.  But  we  shall  point 
out  the  application  of  these  facts  and  factors  5,  13,  17 
and  153  in  their  proper  places.  f 

But  let  us  turn  a  moment  to  what  we  shall  have  to 
term  the  M-ography  of  our  topic. 

The  Hebrew  letter  mem  (^=m)  which  is  the  initial 
letter  of  Manasseh's  name  is,  like  himself,  and  his 
tribe  in  the  sequence  of  adoption,  the  i3th  letter  in 
the  alphabet.  Its  significance  is  that  of  eldership, 
number,  and  many  as  shown  by  Dr.  John  Lamb,  in  his 
Hebrew  characters  derived  from  Hieroglyphics  (Lon- 
don, 1835).  We  have  already  shown  that  it  was  the 
root  of  the  word  Tom  or  Twin  (p.  291,  Study  Num- 
ber Eighteen).  But  Manasseh,  while  an  elder  in 
Joseph  was  a  twin,  or  double  in  his  own  tribal  organ- 
ization, which  was  unique  in  Israel  and  consisted  of 
two  "half  -tribes"  that  were  undoubtedly  some- 

*See  "Novus  Or  do  Sec  lor  urn." 

t  Meanwhile  note  this  anthmography,  Abraham  (248=8X31); 
Isaac  (208=2X8X13);  Jacob  (182  =  2x7X13);  Joseph  (is6=2X 
6X13).  —  31  and  13  being  cognates. 


136  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

what  independent,  or  divided  in  partisanship  which 
is  the  root  and  safeguard  of  a  Republic. 

His  initial  letter  (M)  is  a  letter  that  is  peculiarly 
sacred  to  all  languages  and  religions:  it  was  the  sym- 
bol of  a  stream,  or  of  stripes  as  on  our  flag  (MMM) 
significant  in  hieroglyphics  of  waves  of  water,  which 
is  the  familiar  emblem  of  Aquarius  (M)  the  "Water 
Bearer,"  whom  some  regard  as  Manasseh's  Sign  upon 
the  zodiac.  It  was  primarily  an  emblem  for  peoples> 
nations  and  tongues,  to  wit,  as  before  noted  of  multi- 
tudes, a  Josephetic  promise  of  increase.  The  letter 
mem  stood  for  40,  and  in  later  times  as  a  finial  for  600, 
its  digital  value  being  4  or  6. 

There  has  been  an  enormous  amount  of  literature 
written  about  the  letter  M,  more  perhaps  than  on  any 
other  letter.  In  "  Notes  and  Queries  "*  (S.  C.  and  L. 
M.  Gould,  Manchester,  N.  H.),  it  is  mentioned 
that  "some  student  in  nomenclature  not  long  since 
announced  a  lecture  on  the  Initial  M  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  that  such  a  lecture,  by  Mrs.  Cora  L.  V. 
Tappan,  entitled  '  The  Symbol  of  the  Letter  M,'  gives 
some  singular  information  on  the  letter." 

Mem  is  the  final  letter  of  the  Coptic  word  for  the 
Pyramid  (P  R  M)  which  was  the  great  emblem  of 
Manasseh's  land  of  birth,  and  in  Coptic  signified 


*  We  enjoy  this  publication  and  have  taken  it  for  years.  It  is 
a  liberal  collection  of  all  sorts  of  odd  facts.  We  love  the  lovers 
of  fair  statements  and  the  fair  staters  of  memoranda  that  are 
loved  and  honored  by  others.  If  our  religious  journals  (5/ir) 
had  been  half  as  liberal  as  those  who  seek  the  truth  fearlessly, 
Christ's  kingdom  itself  had  been  here  already ! 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  Itf 

"the  High  Place  of  the  Sun,"  the  monument  itself 
being  Cosmic,  and  peculiarly  solar  in  its  arithmo- 
graphic  references.  The  very  name  of  the  letter  Mem, 
is  our  modern  abbreviation  of  the  word  memorabilia, 
and  is  attached,  like  N.  B.,  to  whatsoever  should  be 
stored  away.  And  the  letter  is  metric  in  every  sense 
of  the  word,  since  from  its  ancient  hieroglyphic  root 
we  derive  all  such  words  as  meter,  metron,  metrics, 
measure,  metrology,  et  ccetera.  It  is  only  neces- 
sary to  illustrate  this  further  by  alluding  to  the  sen- 
tence pronounced  upon  Belshazzar,  "Mene,Mene,  Tekel 
[fy/iarsin,"=M.eted  out,  Measured,  Taken  away, 
Upset. 

In  the  "  Materia  More  Magistratis, "  every  word 
begins  with  M,  and  in  the  following  Latin  enigma, 
by  an  unknown  author  of  very  ancient  date,  the  let- 
ter M  is  concealed : 

Ego  sum  principium  mundi  et  finis  seculorum 
Ego  sum  trinus  et  unus,  et  tamen  non  sum  Deits. 

We  cannot  begin  to  enumerate  the  mysteries  and 
Kabbala  that  have  been  attributed  to  this  famous  i3th 
letter,  but  before  passing  to  the  consideration  of  the 
number  13  itself  which  we  shall  treat  further  anon, 
must  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  it  is  a  factor  of 
26,  which  latter  was  regarded  as  the  most  sacred  of 
the  mystical  numbers  because  it  was  the  sum  of  the 
digits  in  the  Tetragrammaton  or  sacred  name  Jeho- 
vah: J  =  io,  H  =  s,  V=6,  H-5;  10  +  5  +  6  +  5  =  26  =  2 
x  1 3 .  Is  also  the  sum  of  the  digits  of  Brashith  (in  the 
beginning)  the  first  word  in  Genesis:  2  +  2  +  1  +  3  +  1 
+  4=13  (vide  Leaflet  Number  Ixix-lxx).  Thirteen  is 


138  THE  SEAL  OP  HISTORY. 

thus  the  fundamental  number  of  "  Beginning, "  and, 
as  Mahan  shows,  of  Regeneration,  therefore  of  New 
Beginning,  so  that  the  number  is  not  only  appropri- 
ate to  Manasseh  himself  but  to  his  selected  mottoes, 
and  their  meanings,  and  the  structure  of  his  edifice  (13 
x  17),  and  to  his  Maker  (2x13)  who  prospered  our 
beginnings  (13)  in  a  new  order  of  the  ages  (17).  But 
here  again  we  must  pause  lest  in  yielding  to  the 
temptation  to  feel  the  weight  of  the  draught  from 
each  and  every  strand  of  the  net  we  exhaust  the 
patience  of  our  readers. 

But  this  simile,  the  net,  brings  us  to  the  main 
point  in  the  discussion  of  this  ^-lettered  Motto,  "  E 
Pluribus  Unum,"  with  its  six  silent  and  seven  signifi- 
cant figures.*  The  number  of  the  "great  fishes'' 
(153)  caught  in  the  unbroken  net  (John  xxi.  1-12) 
has  been  regarded  as  being  of  some  special  numerical 
significance  as  well  as  of  the  deepest  spiritual  mean- 
ing from  the  very  earliest  Christian  times.  "Of  the 
early  interpretations,  Saint  Augustine's  is  the  most 
ingenious,  and  looks  most  like  inspiration.  He 
found  153  to  be  the  seventeenth  triangular  number. 
That  is  if  we  add  up  all  the  numerals  from  one  to 
seventeen  inclusively,  the  sum  will  be  153.  Now 
seventeen  he  says  is  the  10  of  the  commandment  and 
the  7  of  the  spirit;  it  signifies,  therefore,  those  who 
through  the  spirit  are  enabled  to  fulfill  the  command- 
ment. But  as  153  is  the  sum  of  all  numbers  from  i 
to  17,  it  is  an  expression  of  all  who  through  the  spirit 
fulfill  the  commandment;  in  other  words  it  is  the 

*  N.  B.— The  majority  rules. 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  139 

(symbolic)  number  of  the  finally  redeemed  "  (Mahan), 
/".  *?.,  of  those  who  attain  to  perfect  liberty.  To  our 
own  mind  one  of  the  most  important  numerical  asso- 
ciations connected  with  the  number  153  is  derived 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  made  up  of  the  first  three  odd 
numbers.  These  are  significant  in  all  of  their  arrange- 
ments, which  are  six,  and  may  be  grouped  into  three 
pairs,  as  follows:  153,  513;  135,  531;  351,  315. 

It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  each  of  these 
three  pairs  of  3-figure  arrangements  sum  up  sever- 
ally to  666,  and  are  significant  examples  of  what  has 
been  termed  the  4<  harmonious  break "  (vide  "Compu- 
tation of  666").  Anyone  of  these  "breaks"  reads 
153  upon  the  circumference  of  a  circle,  after  the 
manner  set  forth  in  volume  I.  (/.  e.,  Study  Number 
Eighteen,  page  292). 


Noting  now  that  woman,  Ishah,  or  nC2^&  *s  3°6  — 
2  x  153,  we  recall  the  fact  (p.  292,  Study  No.  Eighteen, 
that  two  i53's  may  be  interlaced  upon  the  circle 
in  the  6-pointed  form  of  what  at  present  may  perhaps 
be  considered  as  that  of  our  established  "Crest,"  and 
that  when  diametered  apart  we  have  113  [355.  This 
is  the  sequence  of  the  first  three  odd  numbers  taken 
in  pairs,  and  is  the  usual  way  of  expressing  the 
Metius-ratio,  to  wit,  113)  355  (3. 141592  +  .  Nor  is 


140  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

this  association  of  ideas  at  all  far  fetched  from  its 
cognates,  for  Eve  or  her  cognate  Hovah  was  565  =  5  x 
113),  she  named  her  first-born  Cain,  a  measure,  from 
its  cognate  355  or  Shanah  the  Lunar  year.  Thus  666 
—  360=  (2  x  153),  /.  ^.,  306  or  woman  :  to  wit,  Eve  (565 
==5x113)  measured  or  compassed  a  man  (113)  even 
as  she  supposed  "the  coming  one,  "to  wit,  Jehovah 
(6561  *—  81  x  81)  so  she  called  his  name  Cain  (810  = 
10x81).  But  with  two  interlaced  i53's  on  the  cir- 
cumference of  a  circle  the  number  5153  f  can  be  read 
in  four  different  ways  and  4x51531=20612.  Now 


all  of  these  figures  are  related,  for  20612  :  6561 : :  355  : 
ii3,§a"nd  each  pair  is  a  7r-ratio,  or  the  fundamental 

*  A  cognate  of  J  H V  H  or  1 565  or  5651. 

t  n^fc$ri~  The  woman,  of  which  5153  is  but  a  cognate  or 

5315 

admissable  caballistic  arrangement. 

\  5X153  =  765  is  one  of  the  base  measures  indicated  by  the 
Great  Pyramid. 

gNearly;  20612:6561  =  3.141594,  is  a  convenient  working 
TT-ratio,  common  fractional,  undoubtedly  employed  at  Gizeh  and 
used  in  Genesis;  355:113=3.141592,  is  another;  but  mod- 
ern it  is  3.141592,  etc.,  and  there  is  no  intent  to  dispute  its  accu- 
racy. The  only  point  raised  is  the  contention  that  Tt  closer  than 
we  moderns  employ  it  practically,  is  as  ancient  as  Genesis  and 
Gizeh,  and  that  Legendre  and  LaPlace  merely  rediscovered  it ; 
and  the  dilemma  for  the  modern  infidel  is  to  account  for  its  pre- 
sence all  through  the  Bible  and  at  Gizeh,  and  to  tell  us  why  it 
was  sealed  up  in  both  cases. 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  141 

physical  factor  of  construction  or  creation.  For  out 
of  the  point,  to  wit,  Jod,  within  the  circle  came 
JHVH,  the  diameter  of  all  things*  and  from  this 
involving  in  all  directions.tat  the  Word  (DBR  =  2o6) 
came  Light  (AOR  206-1)  from  the  Father  of  Light 
AB-AOR  12-206  which  may  be  read  cabalistically 
20612  upon  the  bounds  of  a  circle. 

Mr.  Skinner  in  his  most  interesting  lecture  upon 
Free-masonry,  Chaldaeism,  and  Magism  (Oct.  13, 
1880)  before  the  International  Institute,  pointed  out 
the  origin  of  this  number  as  follows:  "The  Hebrew 
word  for  Light  is  AOR.  The  numerical  values  are 
respectively  A  i,  O  6,  R  200.  You  will  observe  that 
this  word  is  triangular  because  it  has  three  letters. 
Place  the  letters  of  this  word  on  the  circumference 
of  a  circle  at  equal  distances,  join  the  letter  points 
by  right  lines,  and  we  have  a  triangle  in  a  circle. 
Now  read  these  letters  round  this  circle  according  to 
their  number  values,  and  we  have  R,  which  is  200, 
going  onto  the  O,  which  is  6,  we  have  206;  then  we 
go  on  to  the  A  and  we  read  206-1.  To  complete 
the  meaning  of  the  circle  we  must  proceed  to  repeat 
the  2  of  the  200  by  which  the  full  reading  becomes 
20612,  which  is  the  Parker  circumference  to  a  circle 
whose  diameter  is  6561.  *  *  *  Light  was  the 
word,  the  Logos,  the  Hebrew  D  B  R:  that  is,  God 
himself  intended  not  to  give  an  idea  of  God,  the  ain- 
Soph  or  boundless,  but  of  the  first  manifestation  from 
ain-Soph  (that  is  the  incomprehensible  or  boundless, 
became  comprehensible  in  bounds)  to  man,  in  his 
*  1565,  cognate  of  6561  =  81  x  81 ;  chai  or  life  =  81.  fGen.iii.24. 


142  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

creative  law.  The  expressive  word,  Logos,  etc., 
refers  to  its  Hebrew  source,  and  the  Hebrew  for 
word  is  DBR  whose  value  is  206  as  stated  ;  which  as 
DBRI  or  'my  word,'  is  2061,  and  this  read  on  a  cir- 
cle is  20612  equally  with  the  word  Light,"  etc.  In 
this  connection  it  may  be  stated  that  Bunsen  says 
that  the  Pyramid  was  called  "  AOR,"  which  is  Light, 
and  we  know  it  v/as  a  circummetric  structure. 

But  to  return  to  the  number  153: 

Wordsworth's  interpretation  is  that  "  150  is  the  50 
of  Jubilee,  by  the  3  of  perfection,  and  that  153  is  the 
same  150,  plus  the  3  of  perfection;  the  whole  there- 
fore implies  the  number  of  those  who  attain  to  the 
perfect  Jubilee,  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  Sons  of 
God."*  Dr.  Mahan  prefers  the  method  by  multiples 
9x17=153,  in  which  case  the  17  of  "God's  people" 
by  the  9  of  finality  or  judgment  is  10  times  the  15  of 
the  second  resurrection  plus  the  3  of  perfection.  "All 
of  these  interpretations  come  to  the  same  thing,  being 
merely  different  shades  of  the  idea  of  the  '  Sons  of 
God,'  and  if  we  combine  them  all  we  have  an  image 
entirely  in  keeping  with  the  spiritual  meaning  of  the 
miracle  recorded  by  Saint  John." 

The  number  occurs  but  this  once  upon  the  surface 
of  the  Scriptures  (to  wit,  in  John  xxi.)  but  it  is  sig- 
nificantly hidden  in  them  here  and  there  in  appropri- 
ate places.  For  instance,  "The  Net/'  TO  Sinrvov, 
in  which  these  "great  fishes"  were  caught,  sums  up 
to  1224  =  8x153,  the  net  evidently  signifying  the 
church  of  the  Living  God ;  and  in  that  it  was  brought 

*  Heb.  153. 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  143 

to  the  shore  unbroken,  /'.  e.,  landed  its  draught  safely, 
it  indicates  the  resurrection,  and  vivifies  an  active 
faith.  In  this  connection  Dr.  Mahan  points  out  that 
the  force  of  this  numerical  intention,  and  of  its  sig- 
nificance, "is  certainly  not  diminished  when  we  find 
out  that  the  arithmography  of  this  very  word  Fishes, 
the  Ichthyes,  so  conspicuous  among  primitive  symbols 
is  precisely  the  same  number:  '  i224=8x  153. 

Here  then,  we  have  the  subjects  to  be  caught 
(fishes)  by  the  "fishers  of  men,"  the  net,  and  the 
draught  itself,  all  in  mystic  but  unmistakable  relation 
to  each  other.  Those  caught  are  undoubtedly  the 
"  Sons  of  God,"  in  Hebrew  the  Jieni  ha  Elohim,  the 
sum  of  which  is  153;  hence  they  are  typified  by  the 
Magdalene,  to  whom  the  resurrected  Lord  first  showed 
himself,  TJ  MaydaXrjnj,  whose  numerical  value  is  the 
same,  to  wit:  153.  The  number  first  appears  as  a 
factor  in  the  name  that  Adam  gave  his  wife,  "  woman, 
because  she  was  the  mother  of  all  living,"  to  wit: 

I  shah  n&'N  3o6==2  x  :53 

Space  would  fail  us  even  in  a  special  volume,  should 
we  attempt  to  exhaust  this  topic;  we  have  broached 
it  merely  to  set  forth  the  hidden  relation  of  the  num- 
ber 153  to  Liberty  in  ail  of  its  phases,  and  to  Election 
thereunto  as  such,  and  thus  to  show  forth  the  neces- 
sity of  finding  this  number  in  our  national  Arithmog- 
raphy, and  the  unique  fitness  of  its  appearance 
when  found  upon  the  Great  Seal  of  Manasseh;  for 
his  ideal  Constitution  and  Polity  is  not  only  the  lof- 
tiest, but  the  final,  human  effort  to  attain  the  perfect 
liberty  of  each  member  of  society,  with  due  respect 


144  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

to  that  of  all  the  rest.  In  the  first  place  this  is  fully 
expressed  in  the  intended  meaning  of  our  motto,  E 
Pluribus  Unum,  "One  [formed]  Out  of  Many" — for 
except  the  many  be  agreed,  unity  is  of  course  impos- 
sible, and  unless  the  One  be  supreme,  the  union  is  in 
vain.  In  fact,  this  Manassite  ideal  of  human  liberty  is 
a  mere  type  of  that  Millennial  one  whose  principle  is 
the  same — Oneness  in  Jesus  Christ:  that  is,  of  the 
Christian  union  of  many  in  one  body,  so  as  to  be 
Sons  of  God,  or  Bern  ha  Elohim  (153),  or  fishes  8  x  153, 
and  so  brought  within  "the  unbroken  net,"  which  is 
8x153.  Accordingly,  when  we  re-examine  the  nu- 
merical value  of  the  motto,  E  pLVnIeVs  VisrVM  — 
107  r,  with  direct  reference  to  the  triangular  number 
of  perfect  liberty,  153,  we  find  it  is  a  perfect  multiple 
thereof  to  wit:  7  x  153=1071!  Jesus,  whose  number 
is  8x111—888  being  the  head-stone  or  8th  153  in 
whom  only  We  are  One.*  Thus,  the  1071  or  seven 
153*8  of  the  Motto  +  the  one  153  of  the  cap-stone,  are 
the  eight  153*5=  1224  of  the  net,  and  of  the  fishes, 
which  in  another  sense  are  the  153  eights,  or  perfect 
primary  cubes  out  of  which  the  new  beginning  of  the 
ages  is  yet  to  be  created.  Dr.  Mahan  states  that 
"  the  number  8  in  its  scriptural  use  is  constantly  con- 
nected with  the  complementary,  or  in  some  cases  an- 
tagonistic 13.  *  *  It  is  also  intimately  related  to 
such  numbers  as  5,  7,  12,  17,  153  and  the  like." 

This  draught  was  wonderful  in  every  sense,  and 
loaded  with   153*8,  and  it  was  Peter  that  drew  it  to 

*  Because  He  preeminently  is  the  only  Begotten  "Sou  of 
God,"  and  in  reality  THE  ONE  taken  out  of  many  brethren 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  145 

the  shore,  single-handed;  Peter  here  signifying 
Faith.  Now  what  he  drew  to  the  land  may  be  para- 
phrased or  unveiled  as  follows: 


i.      The  Net 

1224     =  8X153' 

2.     One  hundred*^ 

446  \ 

3.     Fifty-three  *     = 

2144  V  =23X153 

4.     Of  great  (size)  = 

929) 

5.     [Fishes] 

1224     -  8XI53J 

31x153 
39X153 


5967    =39Xi53=3X3X3.Xi3.Xi7. 

The  whole  account  is  therefore  an  astonishment 
from  this  mathematical  standpoint,  and  we  are  not 
beginning  to  exhaust  it:  but  enough  has  been 
shown  to  demonstrate  to  all  whose  hearts  are  inclined 
to  wisdom  that  the  admission  of  one  of  two  things  is 
necessary,  to  wit :  either  the  writer  of  this  Scripture 
(and  in  that  case  the  writers  of  each  and  all  Scrip- 
tures) weighed  its  very  letters,  or  else  that  in  working 
faithfully  he  wrought  (and  they  too  as  he  had)  wiser 
than  even  he  himself  (or  others)  knew,  and  his  jots 
and  tittles  were  overruled,  /'.  e.,  "verbally  inspired," 
with  all  that  this  implies!  The  chances  against  such 
an  arithmographical  concert  of  153*8  surrounding  this 
literal  draught  of  153  unintentionally  are  a  netful 
of  153  infinities  to  i,  and  we  warn  the  "Higher 
Critics,"  who  are  ruthlessly  attempting  to  break 
the  unity  of  Scriptures  by  their  disingenuous 
verbal  cavillings,  and  faithless  doubts  as  to  author- 
ship and  literal  truth,  that  they  will  only  have  their 

*  These  numbers  are  spelled  out  in  the  Greek,  so  of  course 
the  words  themselves  have  these  values  accorded  to  their  letter 
values. 


146  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

pains  for  their  folly.  It  would  take  a  skillful  kabbal- 
list  a  month  to  write  wittingly  some  of  the  single 
arithmographical  sentences  in  the  Bible ;  are  we  there- 
fore to  swallow  the  ignorance  of  those  who  (knowing 
not  that  the  whole  volume  of  the  Scriptures  is  writ- 
ten in  numbers  as  well  as  words)  would  have  us 
believe  the  Scriptures  grew  into  their  present  shape 
by  the  repeated  tinkerings  of  men  no  better  than 
(and  quite  as  unfaithful  as)  themselves  ? 

In  discussing  the  prevalence  of  this  number,  153, 
in  the  Scriptures,  that  is  its  discovery  in  places  where 
on  a  posteriori  principles  we  now  have  a  right  to  ex- 
pect it,  but  which  we  do  not  believe  the  writers  them- 
selves were  aware  of  on  a  priori  principles,  Dr. 
Mahan  remarks  as  follows : 

"  But  the  great  mass  of  facts  in  this  volume  *  have 
been  subjected  to  a  vastly  more  rigorous  test.  In 
testing,  for  example,  the  regular  recurrence  of  the 
number  153  in  places  of  Scripture  to  which  it  is 
appropriate  I  was  led  to  select  about  forty  passages, 
most  of  them  very  brief,  which  from  their  meaning 
seemed  likely  to  contain  it  as  a  factor.  These  pas- 
sages being  reduced  to  their  arithmetical  equivalents, 
by  a  process  explained  in  this  work  "  (every  Hebrew 
and  Greek  letter  having  a  numerical  value  and  all  are 
familiar  with  Roman  numerals!)  "we  have  as  a 
result  40  marked  numbers,  that  is — numbers  selected 
for  their  connection  with  certain  places  in  Scripture 
without  any  previous  knowledge  of  their  value  in 
other  respects.  Now  what  is  the  chance  that  any 

*"Palmoni,"  and  "The  Mystic  Numerals  of  Scripture." 


THE  NATIONAL  MOTTO.  147 

one  of  these,  the  first  for  example,  should  prove  on 
analysis  to.  be  an  even  multiple  of  153  ?  Mathemat- 
ically the  chance  is  T|¥  (/.  e.t  i  in  153).  But  what  is 
the  chance  that  two  of  them  consecutively  should 
each  and  both  prove  the  same?  It  is  -r$ffxTiff- 
Finally  what  is  the  chance  that  the  forty  in  succession 
should  each  and  all  prove  to  be  the  same?  It  is  the  frac- 
tion Ti;j  multiplied  into  itself  forty  times,  a  fraction 
which  it  would  be  idle  to  compute,  but  which  on 
rough  estimate  might  be  represented  by  a  denomina- 
tor of  about  one  hundred  ciphers. 

"In  other  words  the  chance  in  favor  of  the  sup- 
posed result  would  be  as  one  to  a  number  so  vast 
that  practically  it  may  be  regarded  as  infinite.  Yet 
as  matter  of  fact  not  only  the  forty  marked  places 
referred  to,  but  as  many  more  of  the  same  kind 
which  have  occurred  incidentally  in  experimenting 
upon  other  numbers  have  yielded  the  expected  fac- 
tor, accompanied  in  most  cases  by  other  sacred  num- 
bers equally  appropriate  to  the  sense.  It  may  be 
safely  claimed,  therefore,  that  the  facts  recorded  in 
this  volume,  with  the  one  great  fact  that  underlies  them 
all,  come  up  squarely  to  the  scientific  definition  of 
LAW,  the  possibility  of  chance  being  excluded  by  a 
strictly  scientific  test. 

"And  on  this  ground  I  venture  to  invite  men  of 
science,  as  well  as  men  of  faith  into  a  new  and 
worthy  field  of  inquiry.  If  the  structure  of  an  insect 
shows  marks  of  Divine  skill  which  repay  the  most 
minute  and  untiring  study,  much  more  will  it  prove 
worth  our  while  to  look  into  the  minutite  of  the  Word 
of  God.' 


148  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

Now  one  of  my  own  honored  instructors  at  West 
Point,  Professor  Church,  verified  these  deductions  of 
Dr.  Mahan,  and  I  myself  have  been  satisfied  that 
both  he  and  Professor  Church  were  warranted  in 
their  surprise.  Shall  I  then,  who  sat  at  the  feet  of 
that  Gamaliel  of  the  old  Highlands,  stultify  my- 
self at  the  knees  (that  do  not  bend)  of  the  disrupt've 
Higher  Critics  of  these  days,  and  teach  others  that 
the  Word  of  God  is  the  work  of  mere  men's  hands  ? 
Nay!  I  say,  rather,  "Out  upon  such  infidelity  as 
theirs ;"  were  I  not  satisfied  that  these  stupendous 
facts  condemn  their  methods,  I  am  free  to  say  that  I 
would  strive  to  outdo  Mr.  Robert  Ingersoll  in  tear- 
ing down  the  fraud  they  preach,  and  I  am  freer  to 
maintain  that  I  believe  Mr.  Ingersoll  will  rise  up  jus- 
tified, perhaps,  far  beyond  their  degree  of  recognition 
(save  when  he  scorns,  from  failure  to  investigate  a 
trifle  more  faithfully  the  facts  for  himself.'} 

Now  a  perfect  number  is  one  which  is  equal  to  the 
sum  of  all  its  factors  or  aliquot  parts.*  There  have 
been  but  eight  discovered;  they  all  end  in  and  are 
related  to  6  or  8.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  these 
are  all  there  are  in  the  infinite  possibility  of  numbers, 
but  it  has  been  shown  that  8  as  a  factor  dominates 
them.  Mahan  speaks  of  it  as  "  the  most  perfect  of 
spiritual  numbers,  the  symbol  of  life  which  lives  and 
revives  and  grows,  and  is  fruitful  and  multiplies  and 
replenishes  all  things,  which  is  all  in  all,  and  through 
all,  whether  in  heaven  or  in  earth,  in  nature  or  in 
grace,"  et  ccetera.  We  shall  meet  this  number  and  its 
most  significant  multiple  888,  later  on. 

*  Hutton's  Recreations,  vol.  i,  p.  35. 


THE  OLIVE  BRANCH. 


"The  Lord  called  thy  name,  a  green  Olive  tree, /air,  [i.  e., 
decked  with  flowers]  and  of  goodly/>#z'/."—  Jer.  xi.  16. 

"Thy  children    like  Olive-plants  round  about  thy   table." 
— Ps.  cxxviii  3. 

"Joseph  is  a  fruitful  Bough,  even  a  fruitful  Bough  by  a  well ; 
whose  Branches  run  over  the  wall." — Gen.  xlix.  22. 

"  He  created  wisdom  and  numbered  her  and  poured  her 
upon  all  his  works." — Bibliotheca  Biblica. 

Preliminary  to  an  Art-Heraldic  discussion  of  this 
particular  emblem,  a  few  words  as  to  its  Botanical 
nature  will  be  in  order.  (Vide  Carpenter). 

Oleinece :  The  botanic  classification  of  this  most  im- 
portant plant  is  as  follows:  Sub  Kingdom  I.  Phse- 
nogamous,  Cotyledonous  or  flowering  plants.  Class 
I.  Dycotyledonous.  Sub  class  II.  Angio  Spermous. 
Division  II.  Monopetalous,  flowers  furnished  with 
both  sepals  and  petals,  the  latter  connate.  Series  II. 
Hypogynous  or  Perigynous.  XXII.  Cohort  Genti- 
anales — Oleineae. 

Trees  and  Shrubs. — Leaves  opposite,  petioled  and 
lanceolate.  Simple  or  rarely  imparipinnate,  not 
stipulated,  bronze  green  above  and  silver  whitish 
below.  The  Olea  is  chief  of  the  principal  genera  to 
which  also  the  Ash  and  Lilac  belong.  Flowers.- 
white,  small,  and  in  clusters,  (J)  /.  '.,  unigendered, 


THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORV. 


(Olea  Kuropoea). 

rarely  divecious  and  apetalous,  in  a  raceme  or  trichot- 
omous  panicle,  sometimes  fascicled,  pedicels  opposite. 
Calyx,  monosepalous,  4-lobed  or  toothed,  sometimes 
obsolete.  Corolla,  hypogynous  of  4  petals  united  at 
the  base  in  pairs  by  filaments,  or  clearly  gamopeta- 
lous,  infundibuliform  or  sub-campantulate,  aetivation 
valvate,  very  rarely  O.  Stamens  2,  inverted  on  the 
the  corolla  and  alternate  with  its  lobes  Anthers, 
2-celled,  introrse,  dorsifixed;  dehiscence  longitudinal. 
Ovary  free,  2-celled,  cells  alternating  with  stamens. 
Style,  simple  or  O.  Stigma  undivided  or  2-fid.  Ovules 
collateral,  pendulous  from  the  top  of  the  septum. 
fruit,  a  drupe,  i -celled  and  seeded. 

The  most  useful  species  of  this  family  is  the  Olive 
which  has  spread  from  the  East  throughout  the  Med- 
iterranean region.  The  fixed  oil  expressed  from  the 


THE  OLIVE  BRANCH.  151 

pericarp  of  its  drupe  holds  the  first  place  among  ali- 
mentary oils.  *  The  unripe  drupe  mascerated  in  brine 
is  eaten,  as  are  those  of  some  exotic  species  (O. 
Americana,  fragrans,  etc.).  The  bark  and  leaves  of 
the  Olive  were  formerly  used  as  bitter  astringent 
medicines. f  The  bark  of  the  common  Ash  is  bitter, 
and  has  been  proposed  as  a  substitute  for  quinine. 
Olive  wood  is  extremely  hard,  durable  and  beautiful. 
It  is  extensively  employed  in  the  more  highly  orna- 
mental arts  of  wood.  The  flowers  of  the  O.  fra- 
grans are  used  to  scent  teas  in  china.  Lilac  bark  is 
a  renowned  febrifuge  in  certain  malarious  districts  of 
France.  Ash  wood  is  well  known  as  a  valuable  tim- 
ber for  its  lightness,  flexibility  and  strength.  It  is 
beautifully  veined,  has  an  agreeable  odor,  and  is  held 
in  high  repute  by  cabinet  makers  on  account  of  the 
fine  polish  it  will  take.  The  wood  is  of  a  resinous 
nature  and  consequently  excellent  for  burning. 

The  Oleinese  mostly  inhabit  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere;— /.  e.,  temperate  and  warm  regions.  Some 
are,  however,  tropical,  and  even  extend  beyond  the 
Tropic  of  Capricorn  (Olea  occurs  in  New  Zealand  and 
South  Africa.  Notelcea  is  Australian,  and  both 
Chionanthus  and  Linociera  are  American).  Lilacs 
are  natives  of  the  East,  and  common  enough  here  to 
be  National.  _ 

*  It  is  of  no  use  in  painting,  because  it  never  dries  completely 
—it  is  an  essential  oil  in  the  primary  sense.  As  a  medicine,  it 
was  used  by  the  good  Samaritan,  and  its  healing  qualities  are 
well  known. 

f  Decoctions  thereof  are  used  as  gargles  for  inflammation  of 
the  throat. 


152  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

The  Olive  grows  in  the  East  to  a  height  of  from 
forty  to  fifty  feet,  but  in  France  it  rarely  exceeds 
twenty-five.  It  is  extremely  long-lived,  and  its  esti- 
mation held  so  high  that  it  has  been  named  "a  mine 
on  earth.  " 

One  tree  near  Nice,  not  long  since  famous  for  its 
remarkable  size  and  great  longevity,  is  said  to  have 
measured  thirty-eight  feet  in  circumference  at  the 
bottom  of  the  trunk,  and  to  have  been  recorded 
in  1516  as  one  of  the  oldest  trees  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. Another  celebrated  tree  at  Pescio  is  said 
to  be  700  years  old,  and  there  are  plantations  sup- 
posed to  have  existed  since  the  time  of  Pliny.  In 
spite  of  the  changing  fortunes  of  Palestine,  many  of 
the  famous  trees  that  once  adorned  the  Mount  of 
Olives  are  still  in  existence.  The  foliage  of  the 
Olive  is  evergreen. 

It  was  sacred  to  Minerva,  was  the  object  of  a 
species  of  worship  in  Greece,  and  its  destruction  pro- 
hibited under  severe  penalty.  Olive  \vreaths  were 
used  to  crown  victors  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 
This  was  the  highest  prize  at  the  Olympic  games. 
Its  fruit  is  of  a  deep  violet  color  when  ripe,  but  bit- 
ter and  nauseous  to  the  taste.  It  is  replete  however, 
with  the  bland  and  nutty-flavored  oil  (den.  about 
.913*)  which  is  so  largely  used  as  a  food.  This  oil 
may  be  said  to  form  the  butter  and  cream  of  Spain 
and  Italy.  Olive  Oil  is  made  by  crushing  the  fruit 
to  a  paste,  then  pressing  it  through  a  woollen  bag, 

*A  Pyramidal  Cognate,  since  10  x  913  =9130,  and  9130-5- 
25  =  365.2. 


THE  OLIVE   BRANCH  153 

adding  hot  water  as  long  as  any  oil  is  produced. 
The  oil  is  afterwards  skimmed  off  and  put  into 
tubs,  barrels  and  bottles  for  use.  Pickled  Olives 
are  prepared  from  unripe  fruit  by  repeatedly  steep- 
ing them  in  water,  to  which  quicklime  or  some 
other  alkaline  substance  is  added  to  shorten  the 
process.  They  are  afterwards  soaked  in  pure  water, 
then  taken  out  and  bottled  in  salt  and  water, 
with  or  without  an  aromatic.  Spanish  Olives  differ 
from  French  in  consequence  of  being  prepared  from 
ripe  fruit. 

The  Olive  tree  is  one  of  the  earliest  and  most 
sacred  symbols  of  Nationality.  *  When  the  trees  went 
out  to  seek  for  themselves  a  ruler,  they  first  appealed 
to  the  Olive,  thus  acknowledging  its  Supremacy.! 
But  the  Olive  declined  to  leave  its  "fatness  where- 
with," it  said,  "by  me  they  honor  God  and  man." 

In  the  Scriptures,  the  two  kingdoms  of  Israel  and 
Judah  are  repeatedly  likened  unto  its  fruitful 
branches.^  It  was  preeminently  the  Name  of  Him 
long  promised  to  the  human  race — THE  BRANCH. § 

Its  leaf  was  the  symbol  of  Peace,  ||  and  its  fruit  that 
of  fatness.  •[  The  Olive-branch  is  particularly  the 
heraldic  device  of  the  Tribe  of  MANASSEH  **— the  last 

*Jer.  xi.  16. 

f  Jotham's  Parable,"  Judges  ix.  8-15. 
JZech.  iv.  3-1 1,  Rom.  xi.  1-36;  Rev.  xi.  4. 
§  Zech.  vi.  12. 

|  Gen.  viii.  n.       Vide  Vol.  I   (Study  Number  Eighteen),  pp. 
299-300.  ....   153  +  i  =  154-     Query:  why  +  or  carry  i  ? 

•[Judges  ix.  9. 
**See  Shimeall's  Chronology 'Historic  and  Prophetic. 


154  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

made,*  by  adoption,!  and  thus  the  thirteenth];  tribe  § 
of  Israel.  In  the  prophetic  vision  of  the  dying  Jacob, 
Manasseh  was  seen  in  the  latter  days  of  the  then  far 
distant  future  as  "  A  GREAT  PEOPLE, "||  and  separated 
from  his  brethren.^! 

If  Great  Britain,  or  "John  Bull,"  as  we  familiarly 
call  him,  be  indeed  our  brother  Ephraim,**  as  a  host 
of  most  remarkable  evidences  and  an  entire  school  of 
modern  teachers  are  now  strongly  advocating,  ff  then 
we,  Manasseh,  the  great,  separated,  thirteenth  tribe, 
shall  find  in  a  more  literal  rendering  of  our  national 
Motto — "  E  Pluribus  Unum"  another  hidden  allusion 
beside  that  already  taught  us  in  its  thirteen  symbolic 
letters. 

The  literal  translation  of  this  Motto  is  "one from 
many,"/,  e.,  "one  taken  or  selected  out  of  many," 
/.  <?.,  out  of  thirteen.  This  is  the  legitimate  weight  of 
the  "Latin  preposition,  E  (from,  i.  e.,  separation),  with 
which  this  remarkable  Motto  begins.  In  this  con- 

*Gen.  xlviii.  14. 

f  Gen.  xlviii.  5. 

\  Gen.  xlviii.  20. 

§  Rev.  vii.  6,  and  in  21  other  places  spoken  of  as  a  Tribe. 

I  Gen.  xlviii.  19. 

T[Gen.  xlviii.  and  xlxix.  26. 

**  Ephraim' s  Coat  of  Arms  was  charged  with  a  Bull.  See 
Shimeall's  Chronology.  See  also  Deut.  xxxiii.  13-17.  The  Lion 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  the  Unicorn  of  Israel,  and  the  Motto  of 
Benjamin  are  borne  upon  England's  Coat  of  Arms. 

ff  Vide  Studies  Numbers  One,  Three,  Four,  Five,  Nine,  Our 
Race  Series,  and  the  entire  collateral  library  of  Anglo-Israelite 
Literature.  For  catalogue,  apply  to  the  Our  Race  Publishing- 
Company, 


THE  OLIVE  BRANCH.  155 

nection  we  cannot  refrain  from  again  repeating  the 
remarkable  clause  with  which  the  great  lawgiver 
Moses,  finally  sums  up  the  blessing  of  Joseph  and 
his  two  sons:  "  Let  the  blessings  come  upon  the  head 
of  Joseph — (and  they  are  the  ten  thousands  of  Eph- 
raim)  and  upon  the  top  of  the  head  of  him  that  was  sepa- 
rated from  his  brethren  (and  THEY  are  the  thousands 
of  MANASSEH)." 

Truly,  indeed,  we  are  a  nation  whose  armorial 
bearings  are  rightfully  charged  with  the  Olive-branch 
of  Manasseh,  with  the  mystic  number  13,  so  many 
times  repeated  upon  the  Obverse  and  tLe  Reverse  of 
our  Seal,  and  in  whose  national  mottoes,  meanings 
double  and  triple  so  mysteriously  hide  themselves. 

Manasseh  was  the  first-born  son  of  Joseph,  then 
lost  to  his  parents  and  brethren  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 
Having  gotten  himself  prosperity  and  a  wife  in  this 
land  of  his  separation  and  adversity,  Joseph  had 
practically  forgotten  the  brethren  whose  persecutions 
drove  him  forth  and  sold  him. 

"  MANASSEH!"  —  that  is  forgetful  ness,  was  the  ex- 
clamation of  Joseph  as  he  greeted  this  earliest  son  of 
separation;  "for  God"  said  he,  "hath  made  me  forget 
all  my  toil  and  all  my  father  s  house."* 

Among  the  Hebrews,  the  naming  of  a  child 
was  a  ceremony  of  the  utmost  importance,  f 
The  name  was  always  regarded  as  deeply  prophetic 
of  its  after  life— an  idea  which  runs  through  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  naming  of  all  the  characters  in 
sacred  history.  "  To  give  a  name  is  a  token  of  com- 

*Gen.  xli.  51.  f  Luke  i. 


156  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

mand  and  authority.  The  father  gives  names  to  his 
children."  Socrates,  remarking  upon  the  import  of 
a.  name,  says:  "Those  who  invented  names  seem  to 
me  to  have  been  conversant  with  high  things. " 
"  It  is  said  that  Adam  gave  a  name  to  all  the  animals, 
and  to  his  wife,  and  that  the  name  he  gave  th  m 
became  their  true  name.  *  God  changed  the  name  of 
Abram  to  Abraham,  Jacob  to  Israel,  and  of  Sarai  to 
Sarah."  The  names  thus  given  signify  respectively, 
"  The  father  of  a  multitude  of  nations,"  "a  soldier 
of  God,"  "  a  princess  of  multitudes." 

This  giving  of  names  by  God  signifies  his  absolute 
dominion  over  all  men,  and  his  particular  benevo- 
lence towards  those  whom  he  receives  more  espe- 
cially into  the  number  of  his  own.  Hence  it  was  that 
he  gave  a  name  even  before  their  birth  to  some  per- 
sons whom  he  appointed  for  great  purposes,  and  who 
belonged  to  him  in  a  particular  manner;  such  as  to 
Jedidiah  or  Solomon,  to  Jeremiah,  to  the  Messiah,  to 
John  the  Baptist,  etc. 

MANASSEH  has  been  well  named !  Surely  God  hath 
made  him  "  forget  all  his  toils" — the  toils  that  drove 
him  into  this  wilderness  (1620)  and  his  toils  towards 
freedom  (1776-83),  and  to  absolute  independence 
(1812-14);  and  assuredly  too,  he  hath  nationally 
"  forgotten  all  his  father's  house." 

The  statute  which  enacts  the  Great  Seal  of  our 
country  has  not  been  entirely  understood.  Perhaps 
it:  is  not  quite  explicit  enough  in  some  of  its  details. 

*  The  Second  Adam  wjJl  re-name  all  men  that  accept  him. 


THE  OLIVE  BRANCH.  157 

This  seems  particularly  to  be  the  case  with  reference 
to  the  Olive-branch.  The  full  wording  of  the  statute 
here  is :  "holding  in  his  dexter  talon  an  Olive-branch 
*  *  *  all  proper."  It  is  easy  to  be  seen,  that  unless 
extreme  care  is  taken,  the  greatest  latitude  is  thus 
allowed  to  successive  artists  in  the  conception  of  this 
symbol,  and  so  the  lack  of  symbolic  care  in  this  con- 
nection has  led  to  the  greatest  confusion.  In  fact, 
every  conceivable  form  of  branch,  and  arrangement 
of.  leaves  and  fruit  has  been  in  turn  adopted. 

The  "  Seal  commonly  used,"  according  to  Admiral 
Preble.,*  has  fifteen  leaves  and  but  two  Olives!  In 
the  tracing  of  the  Websterian  Great  Seal  (Study  Num- 
ber Eighteen,  p.  208),  taken  from  an  actual  impres- 
sion officially  made  by  the  State  Department,  it  will 
be  noticed  that  there  are  seventeen  leaves  and  four 
olives.  The  old  Seal  of  the  State  Department,  a  sub- 
ordinate copy  of  the  Great  Seal  and  often  used  as  a 
"lesser  Seal  "  in  lieu  of  it,  had  a  much  larger  num- 
ber of  leaves  and  no  fruit!  The  Olive-branch  on 
the  Centennial  Seal  Medal  of  1882,  has  sixteen  leaves 
and  no  fruit!  And  on  none  of  them  are  flowers  de- 
picted, and  the  botanic  growth  of  the  Oleinae  is  more 
often  displayed  in  ignorance  than  knowledge. 

Now  there  are  but  two  proper  methods  of  repre- 
senting the  Olive-branch— the  one  is  according  to  its 
actual  botanic  growth  at  the  season  either  of  flowers 
or  fruit;  the  other  is  according  to  the  symbolic  or  art 
idea,  in  which  latter  case  both  fruit  and  flowers  may 
be  depicted  together  with  the  leaves.  Neither  of 

*See  page  683,  "  History  of  the  Flag."     Last  Ed.,  1872. 


15&.  j  -THE-SEAlvOF  HISTORY. 

these,  methods  seem  to  have  -been  followed  consistent- 
ly in  the  representation  of  this  important  element  of 
our  Arms.  Where  the  botanic  method  has  been 
attempted,  the  foliage  has  been  shown  as  often  alter- 
nate as  opposite,  the  latter  only  being  correct,  and 
the  fact  that  flowers  or  fruit  spring  up  with  every 
leaf,  upon  the  vigorous  Branch,  has  been  universally 
ignored.*  The  art  or  symbolic  method  has  never  yet 
been  attempted,  though  for  many  reasons,  soon  to  be 
given,  it  is  manifestly  the  most  suitable.  Indeed,  it 
is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  art-method  of  arrang- 
ing the  Branch  shall  be  followed  in  order  to  secure 
that  artistic  balance  of  the  whole  obverse  face,  which  is 
a  matter  of  still  more  importance;  for  lack  of  a  pro- 
per conception  of  the  Olive-branch,  this  Obverse  face, 
which  .'comprises  the  important  Arms  and  Crest  of  the 
nation,  is.  now  left  entirely  unbalanced. 
. .  Numerical  lapses  such  as  this  one,  which  we  note 
in  the  conception  of  the  Olive-branch,  have,  however,, 
marked  the  history  and  use  of  the  Great  Seal  from 
the  very  day  of  its,  first  promulgation.  Hon.  A.  L. 
Snowden  in  his  correspondence  with  Secretary  Folger, 
on  the  Great  Seal  Medal  of  1882,  refers  to  some  of 
these  as  follows:  "  I  should  not  omit  to  mention  an 
important  faqt  in  connection  with  the  device  of  the 
Great  Seal,  which  I  came  across  in  investigating  the  • 
subject,  namely,  that  the  present  Seal  is  not  in  exact 
conformity  with  the  design  adopted  by  Congress.  -  .  } 

.  *  Except  on  the  wreaths  found  at  the  reverse  of  certain^ 
types  of  our  national,  .coinage.  See  "Ring  dollar1'  of  1852,- 
Dollar  of  1849,  "  Half  cent,  '•  r8gg,  etc. 

' 


THE  OLIVE  BRANCH.  159 

"  The  divergence  from  the  original  design  is  quite 
marked,  and  in  my  judgment  very  injudicious.  On  the 
present*  Seal,  you  will  notice  that  above  the  eagle's 
head  there  are  thirteen  stars  embraced  in  an  oblong 
or  depressed  circle,  which  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  thirteen  original  States  were  to  be  forever 
circumscribed,  and  that  no  other  stars  or  States  could 
enter  within  the  charmed  circle.  How  different,  and 
how  much  more  suggestive  was  the  original  design, 
which  had  the  thirteen  stars  emerging  from  beneath 
the  dark  clouds.  The  beautiful  and  appropriate  sug- 
gestion which  was  conveyed  was  that,  as  the  time 
advanced,  other  stars  would  emerge  from  behind  the 
clouds,  and  take  their  place  in  the  national  firma- 
ment. 

"This  was  not  only  beautiful  in  conception,  but 
prophetic  in  its  application  to  our  nation.  This 
change  in  the  design  was  doubtless  the  result  of  an 
unappreciative  engraver,  who  imagined  the  stars 
would  look  more  artistically  arranged  if  embraced 
within  the  lines  of  a  circle. 

"The  Reverse  of  the  Seal  has  also  been,  to  some 
extent,  changed  from  its  original  design.  In  the 
original,  the  pyramid  was  composed  of  thirteen  solid 
blocks,  gradually  narrowing  to  an  uncompleted  apex. 
In  many  of  the  designs  which  have  been  handed 
down  to  us,  among  them  that  forwarded  by  Lieut. 

-  .  *  This  was  the  Websterian  Seal  which,  since  1885,  has  been 
succeeded  by  the  Frelinghuysen,  but  the  Hon.  Mr.  Snowden's 
remarks  have  the  same  bearing 


160  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

Totten,*  it  will  be  noticed  that  each  layer,  represent- 
ing a  State,  is  subdivided  or  broken,  and  as  if  com- 
posed of  several  pieces  cemented  together.  This  was 
certainly  not  the  original  design,  which  was  intended 
to  convey  the  compact  unit  of  the  States,  as  bound 
or  cemented  together  in  the  unfinished  National  pyr- 
amid, "f 

As  a  general  rule,  all  such  lapses  have  been  suc- 
cessively detected,  and  as  our  interpretation  of  the 
substance  shadowed  has  progressed,  they  have  one 
by  one  quietly  disappeared  from  our  armorial  bear- 
ings, without  any  appeal  to  Congress  ever  having 

*  The  erroneous  design  of  the  Great  Pyramid,  referred  to 
above  as  forwarded  by  the  author,  was  the  only  idea  he  then 
(1882)  had  upon  the  subject.  Fortunately  (as  to  its  numerous 
blocks  in  each  layer,  although  they  are  correct  as  to  Barton's 
drawing,  and  according  to  fact,  but  better  left  out  in  heraldry), 
it  was  not  followed  in  the  preparation  of  the  dies  for  the  Medal. 
It  is  equally  unfortunate,  however,  that  the  general  proportions 
of  the  pyramid  as  given  in  the  design  forwarded,  were  not  fol- 
lowed, as  they  were  those  of  the  one  only  great  type  of  pyra- 
mids, that  of  Gizeh!  The  Medal,  however,  embodies  every 
good  point  referred  to  above  by  Col  Snowden,  and  is  subject 
to  but  three  criticisms,  the  one  with  reference  to  the  Olive- 
branch,  and  the  other  noted  elsewhere  with  reference  to  the 
proportions  cf  the  pyramid,  the  arrangement  of  its  foundation, 
and  its  descending  capstone;  and  the  minor  details  of  the 
eagle  (Vol.  I.,  Study  Number  Eighteen,  pages  169-206). 

f  An  examination  of  the  illustrations  on  pages  78-79,  Vol.  I., 
Study  Number  Eighteen,  will  show  that  Mr.  Barton's  idea  of 
the  layers  was  composite ;  but  the  Pyramid  upon  the  old  Con- 
tinental notes,  $8,  $50,  etc.,  had  compact  solid  blocks.  These 
are  the  ones  we  presume  Mr.  Snowden  refers  to  as  "  the  orig- 
inal design,"  for  Mr.  Barton's  idea  came  thence. 


THE  OLIVE  BRANCH.  161 

been  necessary.  It  has  not  been  the  fault  of  the 
statute,  however,  but  of  its  readers,  that  lapses  such 
as  these  have  marred  so  long  our  fair  escutcheon. 

In  this  particular  phase  of  national  advancement, 
our  coinage  has  been  more  of  a  popular  educator  than 
we  have  ever  dreamed.  For  a  hundred  years,  those 
charged  with  the  mintage  of  our  coins  and  medals, 
have  studied  the  symbology  and  symmetry  of  our 
"Coat  of  Arms."  With  them  it  has  not  been  the 
making  of  a  single  die,  in  haste  to  seal  a  document 
of  law,  but  of  thousands  of  such  dies,  until  the  medal- 
list, skillful  in  his  art,  conceives  almost  without  an 
error,  and  as  though  by  instinct,  all  the  beauty  in 
those  "Arms."  And  they  by  whom  these  coins  are 
so  constantly  handled — the  people — unwittingly  are 
taught  to  recognize,  as  though  by  instinct  too,  the 
truth  from  forgery  and  counterfeit.  Thus,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  symmetry  and  of  artistic  instinct,  the  necessity 
of  balance  between  the  Olive-branch  and  Bundle  of 
arrows  carried  in  the  Eagle's  talons,  was  long  ago 
recognized  in  our  coinage,  and  is  very  beautifully 
realized  in  the  present  silver  pieces. 

Let  any  one  examine  these  emblems  as  coined 
upon  a  silver  dollar,  a  half  dollar,  or  a  quarter,  and 
he  will  at  once  notice  that  the  truly  educated  artist 
could  not  resist  the  art-idea  of  balance  in  his  work. 
For  lack  of  space,  the  number  of  arrows  on  these 
Coins  was  formerly  reduced  to  three,  but  it  will  be 
noticed  that  the  Olive-branch  in  every  such  case 
was  furnished  with  but  three  corresponding  growths 
or  tufts  of  foliage.  This  is  particularly  noticeable 


162 


THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 


upon  the  old  silver  dollar,  where  the  room  to 
work  and  the  character  of  the  work  was  much 
better. 

This  art  balance  is,  moreover,  beautifully  shown 
upon  the  Gold  Eagle  of  1797,  where  five  arrows  are 
balanced  by  five  Olive  growths,  and  in  the  Quarter 
Eagle  of  1834,  where  the  balance  is  again  struck  with 
but  three  elementary  emblems.  The  fact  is,  it  is  a 
symbolic  necessity,  as  well  as  the  demand  of  high 
art,  although  even  in  our  coinage  it  was  not  until 
quite  lately  brought  to  its  full  beauty  by  striking 
the  balance  between  thirteen  elements  upon  each 
side. 

BALANCED,  BUT  NOT  ACCURATE.          The    accompany- 

ing  illustration,  giv- 
ing the  shoulder 
knot  of  a  "  Colo- 
nel of  the  line,"  in 
the  Regular  Army, 
is  taken  from  the 
official  plates  (1882) 
issued  at  considera- 
ble expense  by  the 
Quartermaster's  de- 
partment. 

It  shows  the  art  idea  of  balance  between  the  bundle 
and  the  branch  very  clearly.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
to  carry  out  this  idea  upon  the  silver  dollar  (of  1882) 
this  balance  is  struck  between  three  elements,  each 
of  which  is  again  subordinately  resolved  into  three 
ultimates,  Here  the  balance  is  perfect,  either  as 


163 

three  against  three,  or  as  nine  '.against  nine;  ahd'the 
'whole  device  thus  has  its  harmony  preserved.* 

The  two  emblems  refer  to  the  same  People  whose 
original  number  the  Crest  defines,  the  Paleways  re- 
peat, the  Arrows  still  further  analyze,  and  the  Motto 
itself  most  significantly  conceals. 

Shall  then  our  Coat  of  Arms,  the  very  type  itself  of 
all  our  coinage,  continue  thus  unbalanced,  a  subject  of 
well  merited  art.  criticism?-  It  certainly  should  not, 
nor  need  it  hereafter  do  s6,'  unless'  those  who  have 
been  shown  aright  shall  willfully  perpetuate  an  error. 

*  Note,  however,  that  the  aspect  of  the  Eagle  is  wrong — 
East  instead  of  West,  and  the  Shield  starred ! 

It  will,  be  remembered  that  the  present  work  was  written 
in  1882-3  A-  I)-.  at  which  time  (as  there  is  evidence  enough  to 
show,  vide  "Vol.  I.,  Study  No.  18,  pages  169-264;  "International 
Standard,"  July,  1885,  pages  268-3;  "An  Important  Question  in 
Metrology;"  1884,  etc.),  we  were  actively  engaged  both  in  sea- 
son and  out,  in  urging  the  improvement  of  our  heraldic  realiza- 
tions upon  all  concerned.  Therefore  it  is  not  a  little  gratify- 
ing now  to  know  at  this  later  date  (1897),  that  these  efforts,  and 
those  of  our  numerous  companions  in  the  "International  In- 
stitute," were  not  in  vain;  for  the  comparison  of  the  silver 
coinage  (1882)  of  those  and  previous  days;  with  that  of  1892 
and  subsequent  ones  (our  present  silver  pieces),  will  furnish 
evidence  enough  that  we  won  the  victory  along  the  very  lines 
upon  which  we  were  contending, — and  this  not  only  in  the 
mere  matter  of  improving  the  beauty  of  our  coinage,  but  in 
the  far  more  important  one  of  forcing  the'  improvement  (1885) 
of  the  Great  Seal  Die  itself.  For  we  maintain  that  all  of  these 
improvemer  ts  arose  out  of  the  correspondence  that  we  and 
others  of  our  school  of  thought  had  with  the  State  and  Treas- 
ury Departments  in  1882  and  1883  (vide,  for  instance,  the 
Letters  displayed  at  length,  in  Study  Number  |8,^pp.  171-204). 


164  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

In  the  science  of  correspondence  and  symbology 
no  such  glaring  art  lapses  can  be  tolerated.  It  is  of 
all  sciences  that  one  whose  laws  are  most  rigidly 
fixed,  and  in  whose  details  there  can  be  allowed  no 
latitude  whatever.  Nor  is  there  in  the  case  in  point, 
any  excuse  for  such  an  oversight.  The  proper  charg- 
ing of  the  Olive-branch,  though  somewhat  obscure, 
is  easily  to^be  determined. 

A  brief  examination  into  the  symbology  of  the 
device  and  its  relations  to  other  elements  of  the  Arms 
would  have  revealed  to  the  true  artist  its  proper 
blazonry  long  ago,  in  spite  of  the  apparent  silence  of 
the  statute  as  to  the  minor  details. 

The  Genius  of  the  Republic  represented  by  the 
duly  escutcheoned,  mottoed  and  crested  American 
Eagle,  offers  to  the  world  Peace  in  its  dexter,  and 
War  in  its  sinister  talon.  It  is  clear  that  these  two 
emblems,  the  Olive-branch  and  the  Bundle  of  thirteen 
Arrows,  refer  to  the  same  nation,  and  that  the  details 
which  are  wanting  in  the  one  (dexter)  are  fully  sup- 
plied in  the  sinister  emblem  which  they  must  balance. 

The  beautiful  analogy  between  the  two,  the  Bundle 
and  the  Branch,  is  most  striking.  Just  as  thirteen 
Arrows  united  in  one  Bundle  represent  America  pre- 
pared for  War,  so  thirteen  Olive  growths  united  upon  one 
Branch  represent  the  gift  America  offers  to  those 
with  whom  she  is  at  Peace.* 

Finally,  as  Mr.  J.  H.  Weldon  pointed  out  in  his  ex- 
cellent article  upon  our  Seal  in  the  International 
Standard  (July,  1885),  the  putting  of  "the  Olive 

*  This  topic  will  be  more  fully  discussed  further  along,  p.  235. 


THE  OLIVE  BRANCH.  165 

branch  in  the  right  talon  of  the  eagle,  and  the 
arrows  in  the  left,  plainly  illustrates  the  divine  com- 
mand given  to  the  Israelites,  as  we  find  in  Deuter- 
onomy xx.  10-12:  "When  thou  comest  nigh  unto  a 
city  to  fight  against  it,  then  proclaim  peace  unto  it, 
*  *  *  and  if  it  will  make  no  peace  with  thee,  but 
will  make  war  against  thee,  then  thou  shalt  besiege 
it."  "  And  here,"  says  Mr.  Weldon,  "we  must  not 
fail  to  observe  that  the  action  of  the  Americans  in 
making  overtures  of  peace  to  the  mother  country, 
previous  to  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  inde- 
pendence (Revolution)  was  strictly  in  accordance 
with  the  divine  precept. " 


OUR  NATIONAL  FLOWER. 

The  National  Flower  of  France  is  the  Fleur  de  Lis, 
because  it  has  been  borne  upon  her  Coat  of  Arms  for 
centuries ;  that  of  England  is  the  Rose,  and  is  found 


1 66  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

upon  the  Arms  of  Britain.  For  a  similar  reason  the 
national  flower  of  Scotland  is  the  Thistle,  while  Ire- 
land's is  the  Shamrock.  In  other  words  these  nations 
do  not  have  to  "choose"  a  national  flower  in  that 
Heraldry  has  selected  it*  In  this  sense  we  of  Manasseh 
have  no  choice  in  the  matter,  but  bear  the  Olive  by 
Statute  of  June  20,  1782,  upon  our  COAT  OF  ARMS. 

It  is  passing  strange  that,  in  all  the  recent  contro- 
versy as  to  this  matter  of  the  selection  of  a  National 
Flower  for  the  United  States,  this,  the  decisive  fiat  of 
Heraldry,  has  not  been  enunciated ;  for,  except  in 
our  own  correspondence  with  Senator  Hawley  some 
years  ago,  in  which  we  urged  the  strength  of  this 
particular  contention  for  use  if  necessary  against  the 
selection  of  any  other  flower  should  the  matter  ever 
come  up  in  Congress  as  was  then  threatened,  we 
do  not  remember  to  have  seen  the  subject  even 
broached,  nor,  so  far  as  we  know,  has  Congress  ever 
reopened  the  matter,  as  among  the  numerous  other 
"  posey  "  propositions  that  have  besought  its  vote. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  finality  of  the 
voice  of  Heraldry  in  these  premises,  nor  could  there 
be  found  in  the  whole  Botanic  kingdom  a  plant  more 
suitable  for  recognition  as  the  National  one  of  the 
United  States  than  the  Olive,  which  means  Peace. 
It  is  indigenous  here,  and  its  genus  is  so  broad 
that  species  of  it  grow  everywhere: — the  Olive  South 
and  West,  the  Ash  in  the  North  and  East,  and  the 
lovely  Lilac  ubiquitously. 

Fortunately  we  have  committed  ho  national  faux 

*  Every  one  knows  this  and  knows  'why. 


THE  OLIVE   BRANCH.  167 

pas  in  this  respect,  /.  e.,  as  to  the  disturbance  of  the 
fundamental  Statute,  and  now  that  the  "History, 
Heraldry  and  Significance  of  our  wonderful  Inheri- 
tance in  the  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States,"  has  at 
last  been  set  in  at  least  primary  order  we  are  justified 
in  urging  upon  all  to  whom  these  presents  come  to 
enlighten  their  neighbors  on  the  topic  and  to  turn 
their  attention  to  these  a  priori  and  a  fortiori  facts. 

We  of  Manasseh  bear  the  Olive-branch  heraldically 
and  by  law.  To  legislate  further  thereon  is  unneces- 
sary; in  fact,  our  "Flower  day"  is  June  2oth,  the 
date  on  which  the  Great  Seal  was  adopted,  and  (by  a 
most  fitting  coincidence,  though  never  thought  of 
until  this  very  moment  *)  is  the  date  already  selected 
for  the  publication  of  this  very  Study. 

The  Summer  solstice  of  this  year  is  to  be  signifi- 
cant to  Ephraim  also,  as  thereat,  June  2oth,  the 
Victorian  celebrations  are  to  begin.  It  is  always  an 
important  Pyramidal  date,  and  it  is  one  of  the  quad- 
ratures of  the  Solar  year,  and  in  this  particular  year 
will  be  remarkably  marked  astronomically  (astrolog- 
ically)  by  having  the  sun  and  moon  in  absolute  quad- 
rature, the  sun  at  90°  true  Long,  (or  6  h  R.  A.),  and 
the  moon  at  o°  Declin.  It  is  noticeable,  too,  that  the 
"equation  of  time"  this  year  changes  from  —  to  + 
on  June  i3th  which  is  the  anniversary  of  Secretary 
Thomson's  appointment  to  control  over  the  Seal  dur- 
ing that  final  and  eventful  week  (June  13-20,  1782) 
of  its  birth. 

*  May  16,  1897,  as  we  are  reading  these  pages  finally  for  tb«j 
press, 


THE  BUNDLE  OF  ARROWS. 


"The  Eternal  God  is  thy  refuge,  and  underneath  are  the 
Everlasting  Arms." — Deut.  xxxiii.  27. 

"But  his  bow''  (Joseph's)  "  abode  in  strength,  and  the  Arms 
of  his  hands  were  made  strong  by  the  hands  of  the  mighty  God 
of  Jacob." — Gen.  xlix.  24. 

"  No  Weapon  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper." — Isa.  liv. 
17- 

"  And  loud  the  sinew  twanged     *     *     * 
With  deadly  speed  the  eager  Arrow  sprang — 

*         *         *         *     it  struck : 
Yet  onward  still  the  Arrow  drove." — II.  iv.  119. 

Concerning  this  elementary  device  upon  our  Coat 
of  Arms,  first  proposed  by  Secretary  Thomson,  the 
statute  reads:  "and  in  his  sinister  a  bundle  of  thir- 
teen arrows,  all  proper." 

As  a  general  xule,  Arrows  in  heraldry  are  blazoned 
argent,  and  feathered  or.  The  shaft  and  head  are 
thus  silver  (or  steel)  white,  and  the  feathers  of  gold. 
Following  this  general  custom  of 

"Silver  arrows  fledged  with  gold,"* 

the  only  official  blazonry,  that  in  St.  Paul's  Chapel, 
N.  Y.,  is  thus  tinctured,  and  is  our  highest  special 
authority  for  perpetuating  it.  The  statute  is  silent 
as  to  the  direction  in  which  these  arrows  shall  point, 
save  in  so  far  as  this  may  be  covered  by  the  words, 

*  Compare  remarks  p.  198,  Vol    i.  Study  Number  Eighteen 


THE   BUNDLE  OF  ARROWS. 


169 


"all  proper."  They  have  been  universally  repre- 
sented on  ihe  Arms  with  "points  upward,"  and  out- 
ward. This  is  also  their  "proper  "  mode  of  display  - 
ment,  as  they  here  represent  the  war  power  of  the 
country  which  is  thus  shown  to  be  in  a  state  of  readi- 
ness and  preparation. 

In  the  old  Seal  of  the  State  department  which,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  is  modeled  upon  the  Obverse 
of  the  National  Seal,  the  eagle  correctly  bears  its 
Bundle  of  Arrows  with  the  points  depressed,  to  signify 
that  in  our  intercourse  with  fellow  nations,  we  have 
no  aggressive  or  hostile  intent,  and  that  even  in  times 
of  actual  warfare,  the  affairs  of  State-craft  should 
proceed  upon  the  basis  of  peace  and  good  faith. 


The    Bundle     of    thirteen 
resents  the  nation  individu- 
lectively  prepared   for   war. 
are    most   appropriately 
ondary  or  sinister  place 
of  the  eagle's    talons, 
fers  peace  to  war.      She 
fruits  thereof 
the     right 
Yet,    is    she 
fray:  not  in- 
old     world, 
down  by  over 
reliant,   pos- 
source,    and 
prospered 


Arrows  rep- 
ally  and  col- 
Its   weapons 
given  the  see- 
in   the  grasp 
America  pre- 
offcrs     the 
to  all  the  world  with 
hand  of  friendship, 
prepared  for  the 
deed  as  the  nations  of  the 
crushed    and    burdened 
preparation,    but    as    self 
sessed  of  inexhaustible  re- 
as   confident  in   Him  who 
her  beginnings. 


The  Arrow  is  preeminently  an  American  weapon. 


1 70  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

The  aborigines  of  our  continent  were  universally 
armed  with  this  deadly  shaft,  and  used  it  with  unerr- 
ing precision.  It  is  thus  peculiarly  appropriate  as 
the  symbol  of  our  war  power.  It  was  also  the  most 
expressive  and  distinctive  weapon  of  the  war-god  of 
the  Aztecs — this  deity  being  always  represented  with 
a  bundle  of  them  in  his  hand. 

But  the  weapon  is  still  more  intimately  connected 
with  our  own  traditions  as  an  Anglo-Saxon  people. 
The  English  archers  were  the  terror  of  every  battle- 
field of  the  Middle  Ages.  It  was  their  distinctive 
weapon,  whose  flight  in  deadly  clouds  was  not  to  be 
withstood  by  any  discipline  their  adversaries  could 
array  against  it.  The  Saxon  was  so  expert  with  this 
weapon,  and  drew  his  powerful  bow  with  so  much 
strength  as  to  penetrate  a  two-inch  oaken  board  at 
a  distance  of  over  200  yards.  He  delivered  his  arrows 
too,  with  wonderful  rapidity  and  accuracy.  The  test 
of  archery  among  them  was  the  delivery  of  at  least 
twelve — (13) — arrows  in  a  minute,  each  one  of  which 
was  to  seek  its  mate  and  quiver  at  the  center  of  the 
mark  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  away. 

But  further  back  even  than  the  Anglo-Saxon  his- 
tory of  Our  Race,  the  Bow-and-arrow  was  distinctively 
our.  weapon.  The  little  tribe  of  Benjamin  alone  pos- 
sessed "an  army  of  280,000  mighty  men  of  valor 
that  bare  shields  and  drew  the  bow."*  These  men 
possessed  such  skill  that  they  could  use  alike  "  both 
the  right  hand  and  the  left  "f  with  the  bow  and  arrow, 
and  out  of  Judah  came  "  the  Battle-bow  "  itself  !{ 

•     *II.  Chron.  xiv.  8.         f  I.  Chron.  xii.  2.         JZech.  x.  4. 


THE  BUNDLE  OF  ARROWS.  i?l 

But  this  species  of  arms- was  as  familiar  to  Manas- 
seh  as  it  was  to  his  father  Joseph,  hence  we  read 
that  "The  Sons  of  Reuben,  and  the  Gadites,  the 
half  tribe  of  Manasseh,  of  valiant  men,  men  able  to 
bear  buckler  and  sword,  and  to  shoot  with  Bow,  and 
skilful  in  war,  were  four  and  forty  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  three  score,  that  went  out  to  the  war  " 
(I.  Chron.  v.  18). 

But  again,  to  us  as  intimately  connected  with  our 
ancestral  Tribe,  the  house  of  Joseph,  the  Bow  and 
Arrow  have  peculiar  import.  In  his  blessing  of 
Joseph,  our  father  Jacob  expressly  says  that,  though 
"  the  archers  have  sorely  grieved  him — and  shot  at 
him,  and  hated  him;  but  his  bow  abode  in  strength, 
and  the  Arms  of  his  hands  were  made  strong  by  the 
hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob."* 

The  prophet  Zechariah  in  his  ninth  chapter  and  on- 
ward through  his  book,  referring  to  the  Golden  Age 
of  Israel,  speaks  similarly  of  our  house.  Thus  the 
Lord  says  unto  him,  "  When  I  have  bent  Judah  for 
me,  and  filled  the  bow  with  Ephraim\  *  *  *  the  Lord 
shall  be  seen  over  thy  sons,  O  Zion,  and  his  Arrow 
shall  go  forth  as  the  lightning  !"J 

In  their  higher  symbolism  the  Arrow  is  thus  the 
weapon  of  the  Almighty.§  It  is  the  deadliest  spe- 
cies of  missile- weapon,  it  cannot  be  withdrawn  with- 
out producing  still  greater  laceration,  its  barbs  hold 


*.Gen.  xlix.  23-24, 

f  Put  for  the  whole  house  of  Joseph—"  the  Arrow  of  Israel !' 

JZech.  ix. 

§Job.  vi.  4. 


l1?*  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

fast,  and  every  motion  works  it  farther   in    towards 
the  vital  parts. 

The  Bible  is  full  of  references*  to  them,  and  sharp 
and  piercing,  they  are  made  ever  ready  for  the  per- 
secutors of  God's  people.  Even  in  ancient  mythology 
this  distinctive  weapon  of  the  All-powerful  one  was 
fully  recognized,  and  the  eagle — Bird  of  Jove — held 
a  Bundle  of  them  in  his  talons. 

Thus,  as  Americans,  and  as  Anglo-Saxons,  as  Sons 
of  Manasseh,  descendants  of  the  thirteenth  tribe  of 
thirteen-tribed  Israel,  as  Sons  of  Joseph,  yea,  and 
loftier  yet,  as  sons  too  of  the  living  God,  the  Arrows 
in  the  eagle's  grasp  are  rightly  borne  as  emblematic 
of  the  war  power — temporal  and  spiritual — of  this 
"  Great  People  "  of  the  latter  days. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  remarkable  col- 
lection of  constellations  that  presided  over  the  deso- 
late heritages  of  America  at  creation,  f  These  were 
Capricornus  and  Sagittarius,  with  their  Decans, — 
Lyra,  Ara,  Draco;  Sagitta,  Aquila  and  Delphinus. 
Capricornus  is  the  scape-goat,  the  "lost  tribe,"  so  to 
speak,  but  our  specific  emblem  is  Sagittarius,  the 
Archer,  or  Manasseh,  Joseph's  first-born  son.  The 
collection  is  a  vivid  prophecy  of  our  o\vn  heraldry, 
but  its  antitype  is  one  phase  of  the  story  of  the  Sa- 
viour. All  this  has  been  amply  shown  by  Dr.  Seiss 
in  his  "Gospel  of  the  Stars, "J  so  that  we  need  not 

*  Deut.  xxxii.  23,  42.  II.  Sam.  xxii.  15.  Psa.  xviii.  14  ;  vii.  13 ; 
xxi.  12;  cxliv.  6,  etc. 

f  Vide  Vol.  I.,  Study  Number  Eighteen,  pp.  286-8  and  305-7. 
J  Now  unfortunately  "  out  of  print." 


THE  BUNDLE  OF  ARROWS.  173 

repeat  it  here,  save  to  note  that  the  celestial  arrow 
Sagitta  is  "the  shot  or  killing  one,  for  it  appears 
naked  and  alone.  It  has  left  the  bow  and  is  speed- 
ing to  its  aim.  It  is  a  heavenly  one,  and  He  who 
shoots  it  is  invisible.  There  is  a  majesty  and  mys- 
tery about  it  which  startles  and  awes,  it  is  the  death- 
arrow  of  Almighty  justice,  which  goes  forth 
from  the  throne  against  all  unrighteousness  and 
sin."  But  in  Manasseh's  arms  the  bundle  of  arrows 
is  held  firm,  the  arrows  are  regathered  as  it  were, 
and  the  olive  branch,  which  is  found  in  the  same 
cluster  of  constellations,  has  precedence.  Manas- 
seh  is,  in  fact,  a  promise  of  Peace,  and  in  due  time, 
under  the  God  of  Joseph  is  to  become  its  fulfillment; 
yet  all  this  not  alone,  for  Ephraim  is  the  Stick  of 
Ten-Tribed  Israel,  and  with  Judah  in  that  day  is  to 
form  one  Stick  or  sceptre  under  the  Righteous  King 
whom  God  will  raise  up  according  to  the  promises 
unto  the  fathers. 

But  the  Arrow  covers  a  further  idea.  "  There  is  a 
spiritual  piercing  and  slaying  in  the  case  of  those 
who  come  to  a  new  life  in  Christ,  akin  to  the  pierc- 
ing and  slaying  of  Christ  himself.  Sharp  and  hurt- 
ful words  are  compared  to  Arrows.  And  of  this 
character  are  the  words  of  God  as  pronounced  upon 
the  wicked,  judging  and  condemning  them  for  their 
sins,  bringing  them  down  from  their  lofty  security 
and  hitting  out  of  them  the  vain  imaginings  in 
which  they  live.  Isaiah  speaks  of  this  sort  of  shaft 
or  arrow  in  the  Lord's  quiver — -the  Arrow  of  the 
Word — the  Arrow  of  conviction  of  sin,  righteousness 


i?4  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

and  judgment — a  wounding  and  killing  arrow  which 
enters  into  men's  souls  and  makes  rmmble  penitents 
of  them  that  they  may  come  to  life  in  Christ." 

THE  NATIONAL  MAGE. 

The  Mace  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (U.  S. ) 
was  made  in  1884,  and  consists  of  a  bundle  of  thir- 
teen Ebony  Rods,  entwined  and  bound  together  with 
silver  bands  (Psa.  Ixvi.  10;  Zech.  xiii.  9).  The  thir- 
teen ebony  sticks  are  intended  to  represent  the  origi- 
nal States  of  the  Union,  and  thus  to  stand  for  the 
whole  nation  (compare  Ezek.  xxxvii.  16,  17).  This 
bundle  of  sticks  that  has  thus  become  one  in  the 
hands  of  Manasseh  is  surmounted  by  a  globe  of  sil- 
ver upon  which  both  hemispheres  are  traced,  while  a 
silver  Eagle,  with  outstretched  wings,  is  perched 
upon  the  summit  of  the  globe. 

The  Psalmist  (ciii.  5)  through  his  prophetic  vision 
saw  Israel  spreading  abroad,  mighty,  and  advanc- 
ing from  pole  to  pole,  and  as  an  Eagle  compassing 
all  lands.  He  beheld,  far  distant,  yet  sure,  Judah 
and  Israel  repentant  and  joined  together  as  one 
nation  in  the  land  by  a  new  and  indissoluble  cove- 
nant, ratified  in  Zion  before  the  Lord.  Israel  shall 
indeed  mount  like  an  Eagle  and  cast  off  her  sins,  she 
shall  renew  her  strength,  and  be  quickened  by  the 
Divine  Spirit ;  then  shall  she  mount  aloft,  and  then 
shall  the  earth  yield  her  increase  and  all  things 
become  new.* 


*  Compare  F.  Goss  in  Banner  of  Israel,   Jan.  u,  1893. 


THE  ARMS  AS  A  WHOLE. 


"And  nightly  to  the  listening  earth 
Repeats  the  story  of  her  birth." 

— ADDISON.  Ode. 

' '  Now  Israel  loved  Joseph  more  than  all  his  children,  because 
he  was  the  son  of  his  old  age;  and  he  made  him  a  Coat  of  Many 
Colors." — Gen.  xxxvii.  3. 

As  the  result  of  our  consideration  of  the  Coat  of 
Arms,  its  History,  its  intended  Heraldry,  its  interior 
Symbolism,  and  the  requirements  of  high  art  for  its 
proper  realization,  we  may  finally  conclude  as  fol- 
lows: That  in  the  great  Seal  Medal  of  1882  the 
general  proportions  of  the  device  were  first  realized, 
and  that  the  whole  device  lacks  but  the  truly  fruitful 
olive  branch  of  Manasseh,  consisting  of  13  growths, 
each  of  a  fruit,  a  flower,  and  two  leaves,  to  accomplish 
all  of  its  deep  significance.  The  official  die  of  the 
State  Department  now  in  use  since  1885  grasps  this 
numerical  balance  fairly  well,  and  at  any  rate  better 
than  any  previous  attempt  at  its  realization,  by  plac- 
ing 13  olives  and  13  leaves  over  against  the  13  arrow- 
heads and  13  fledgings;  but  when  analyzed  down  to 
the  ultimates  it  will  be  seen  that  the  balance  is  not 
finally  exact,  for  the  fledgings  are  double,  and  the 
olive  growth  should  be  so  too.  The  artistic  necessity  of 
this  balance  has  already  been  frequently  recognized 


1 76  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

upon  much  of  our  coinage  which  takes  its  symbols 
directly  from  the  Arms,  and  upon  both  the  St.  Paul 
Chapel  blazonry  and  on  that  of  the  Great  Treaty 
Seal  of  1850  to  1864,  where  this  balance  was  also 
partially  recognized  by  the  13  olives  given  to  the 
Branch  in  each  case. 

The  Scroll  should  be  tinctured  white,  this  being  its 
"proper"  color.  As  the  statute  is  silent,  the  gen- 
eral law  and  custom  governing  such  cases  is  that  the 
natural  color  shall  be  used — that  of  a  book  being 
white,  and  that  particularly  of  the  Sacred  One,  in 
which  we  find  the  highest  meaning  to  each  of  our 
national  symbols,  being  of  the  purest  white,  or  Light 
itself. 

The  Arrows,  barbed  or  bifid  like  the  olive  calyx 
and  the  eagle's  tongue,  should  also  be  blazoned 
"  proper,"  /'.  e.,  Argent  (or  steel  white),  and  feathered 
Or  (gold),  as  in  the  St.  Paul  Chapel  blazonry,  which  is 
the  highest  special  authority  we  have  upon  this  point, 
it  being  also  a  general  custom  of  heraldry  that  where 
no  tincture  is  mentioned,  arrows  shall  be  Argent 
feathered  Or.*  All  of  these  heraldic  features  are  es- 
sential to  the  proper  realization  of  our  Arms. 

They  are  not  changes  in  the  law,  but  are  simply 
interpretations  of  the  statute  itself.  That  they  have 
not  been  succinctly  presented  and  recognized  long 
ago  is  because  no  one  heretofore  has  interested 
himself  upon  the  subject  sufficiently  to  make  it  a 
study.  Nevertheless  no  one  can  examine  the  history 

*The  only  exception  to  this  will  be  to  feather  from  the 
eagle  itself,  in  which  case  white,  or  brown  and  white. 


THE  ARMS  AS  A  WHOLE.  177 

of  the  Seal  as  now  presented,  nor  watch  the  slow  de- 
velopment by  which  its  proper  interpretation  has 
been  brought  about,  without  becoming  convinced 
that  all  along  the  path  glimpses  of  its  true  light  have 
flashed  out,  and  bear  clear  evidence  to  the  interpre- 
tation here  advanced. 

Far  be  it  from  our  purpose  in  this  volume  to  start 
a  controversy  upon  such  a  topic.  But  there  has  been 
lack  of  interest  in  it  for  a  hundred  years,  and  our  na- 
tional heraldry  has  been  suffered  so  to  degenerate  that 
its  beautiful  proportions  for  a  long  era  were  almost 
entirely  lost  to  sight.  The  sole  object  of  this  volume, 
therefore,  is  to  present  these  beauties  clearly  to  the 
view,  and  to  reach  out  a  hand  to  save  them  from  fur- 
ther dishonor.  The  conclusions  we  have  reached  are 
founded  upon  facts  too  strong  to  fear  investigation. 

We  have  labored  upon  the  fundamental  principle 
that  the  statute  as  it  now  stands,  is  what  we  must  in- 
terpret, and  that  if  ITS  clear  interpretation  covers 
every  mooted  point,  then  there  is  no  need  of  touch- 
ing it  again  (as  some  have  thoughtlessly  advised) 
within  the  halls  of  Congress. 

The  perfect  harmony  of  the  "Arms"  proper  of  the 
United  States,  is  as  striking  as  it  is  beautiful.  In 
the  design  ultimately  adopted  to  represent  the  En- 
sign lifted  upon  this  continent  to  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  simplicity  is  the  most  apparent  feature. 

The  appropriateness  of  the  emblem,  both  as  a 
whole  and  in  each  of  its  several  parts,  is  none  the 
less  apparent.  No  more  fitting  an  emblem  for  the 
of  Freedom  could  have  been  selected. 


t?8  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

Upon  the  Arms  of  America  the  Eagle  is  fully  "  oc- 
cupied." He  bears  in  his  beak  a  Scroll  inscribed 
with  the  most  impressive  Motto  of  Union  that  man- 
kind have  ever  heard.  Spreading  aloft  the  wings  of 
his  protection,  he  bears  upon  his  breast  the  Shield  of 
safety  charged  with  the  sentiments  and  tinctures  of 
our  Flag  and  Freedom. 

With  all  the  blessings  of  peace  he  greets  the  exiled 
out  of  every  land  with  the  Olive  branch,  while  yet 
prepared  for  war  he  holds  the  Arrows  of  perpetual 
victory  full  in  the  sight  of  those  who  tyrannize  man- 
kind. 

This  is  the  beauty  of  symbolism  and  of  heraldry, 
that  in  a  picture  so  much  can  be  expressed  that  to 
use  it  as  a  text  whole  volumes  might  be  written  and 
yet  not  exhaust  the  story.  * 


THE  CREST. 


"  A  Star  for  every  State  and  a  State  for  every  Star."— ROB- 
ERT C.  WINTHROP.     Address  on  Boston  Common. 

"  Forever  singing  as  they  shine 
The  hand  that  made  US  is  divine." 

— ADDISON.     Ode. 

"The  Lord  went  before  them  by  day  in  a  Pillar  of  a  Cloud , 
*  and  by  night  in  a  Pillar  of  Fire." — Exod.  xiii:  21. 

"And  his  brethren  envied  him;  but  his  father  observed  the 
saying. — Gen.  xxxvii.  n.  (Compare  9-10). 

In  heraldry  the  Crest  was  an  ornament  for  the 
head.  It  was  usually  affixed  to  the  helmet,  and  was 
a  distinctively  personal  or  hereditary  device.  War- 
riors among  the  classical  ancients  bore  insignia  pe- 
culiar to  themselves,  in  this  manner.  But  the  idea  is 
a  natural  one  to  the  human  mind,  and  among  the 
aborigines  of  our  own  continent  no  form  of  distinc- 
tive ornament  is  more  common  than  the  headdress 
which  is  usually  of  Eagle's  feathers.  The  earliest 
instance  of  the  heraldic  crest  in  England  is  said  to 
be  that  of  Edmund  Crouchback,  Earl  of  Lancaster 
(about  1280  A.  D.).  In  modern  European  blazonry 
the  Crest  is  usually  placed  upon  a  wreath,  coronet,  or 
cap  of  maintenance,  which  surmounts  the  Coat  of 
Arms,  and  in  character  it  is  not  unfrequently  a  repeti- 


i8o  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORV. 

tion  of  some  particular  bearing-  on  the  shield  itself. 
Thus  the  crest  of  Castile  is  a  castle — as  by  Arms. 

The  American  Crest,  however,  instead  of  being  a 
repetition  of  the  stars  that  are  said  to  have  been  pro- 
posed originally  by  Sir  John  Prestwick  for  emplace- 
ment upon  the  chief,  and  are  so  shown  on  the  flag  of 
the  Washington  Life  Guard,  consists  of  these  stars 
themselves,  removed  from  it  by  Mr.  Thomson,  and 
raised  to  the  more  symbolic  place  originally  proposed 
by  the  Committee  of  1779.  They  have  no  need  of 
resting  upon  any  wreath,  or  crown,  or  cap  of  main- 
tenance, but  float  inherently  above  the  brow  of 
Liberty — the  genius  of  our  people. 

The  employment  of  the  heraldic  term  "mullets,"* 
in  describing1  the  Crest  or  Constellation  upon  our 
Coat  of  Arms  is  not  correct.  A  "  mullet"  in  heraldry 
simply  represents  the  rowel  of  a  spur.  In  English 
blazonry  it  is  depicted  as  of  five  points;  in  French, 
;is  of  six.f  It  is  used  as  the  filial  distinction  of  the 
third  son.  It  has  no  reference  whatsoever  to  a  star, 
indeed  the  constellation  of  thirteen  stars  is  so  new  to 
national  heraldry  that  it  probably  occurred  legiti- 
mately therein  for  the  first  time  when  charged  upon 
the  American  Flag  in  1777  and  over  our  Coat  of  Arms 
in  1782. 

*  See  Preble.     Page  694. 

f  But  the  "  Mullet,"  whether  French  or  English,  has  a  small 
ring  or  eyelet  in  its  centre,  which  the  "  Star"  or  "  Etoile  '  does 
not  have,  and  the  "Star"  is  specifically  defined  by  our  Statute 
as  intended — not  the  Mullet,  nor  are  "Mullets"  shown  upon 
the  flag,  nor  on  Washington's  family  Arms,  from  whence  all 
these  things  really  came  in  so  far  as  our  Heraldry  is  concerned. 


THE  CREST.  18 1 

The  "denominating  of  the  stars  over  the  head  of 
the  Eagle  as  a  '  Crest '  "  is  often  objected  to  by  those, 
who  though  well  versed  in  ancient  and  personal  her- 
aldry, are  not  yet  imbued  with  its  inner  spirit  deeply 
enough  to  catch  the  purer  symbolism  thus  introduced 
in  the  "  Novus  Ordo  Sedorum"  Speaking  of  this 
so  called  erroneous  denomination,  Mr.  T.  C.  Lukens, 
of  Philadelphia,  in  a  letter  to  Admiral  Preble,  calls 
it  an  armoristic  lapse.  *  He  says :  ' '  They  are  instead 
only  approximately  a  Crest,  but  are  not  a  Crest,  ex- 
cept through  great  latitude  in  the  use  of  the  term, 
because  they  could  not  be  tangibly  represented  as  in 
nature  and  attached  \.Q  the  top  of  a  helmet.  Theoret- 
ically, the  Crest  must  be  something  possible  to  be 
represented  in  apparent  solidity  in  carved  or  stamped 
work,  which  being  affixed  to  the  helmet  can  also  be 
reasonably  represented  as  resting  upon  the  top  of  the 
Shield." 


Mr.  Lukens  seems  to  have  forgotten  that  the  Bible, 
which  is  a  volume  of  the  very  loftiest  symbolism, 
freely  employs  this  perfectly  natural  emblem,  as  for 

*  See  page  691,  "The  Flag  of  the  United  States  "  Ad- 
miral Geo.  H.  Preble.  3d  Ed.,  1882.  Boston,  James  R.  <>s- 
good  &  Co. 


i8a  THE  SEAL  OF  HISTORY. 

instance  in  the  description  of  that  "  great  wonder  in 
heaven ;  a  woman  clothed  with  the  sun,  and  the  moon 
under  her  feet,  and  upon  her  head  a  crown  of  twelve 
stars  "  (Rev.  xii.  i). 

We  must  differ  entirely  therefore,  with  Mr.  Lukens 
on  this  topic.  We  require  the  exercise  of  no  latitude 
whatever  in  denominating  the  Constellation  ' '  a  Crest. " 
If  represented  as  in  nature,  it  certainly  would  require 
no  tangible  attachment  to  the  helmet  !  The  self  re- 
liance, so  beautifully  realized  by  the  ' '  Eagle  without 
supporters"  is  made  even  more  explicit  in  the  Crest 
of  Stars  above  its  head.  This  certainly  needs  no 
tangible  support  !  Its  strength  to  rise  into  the  vault 
above,  higher  even  than  the  Eagle's  flight  itself, 
comes  from  Him  who  "  sealeth  up  the  stars  "*  and 
puts  a  crown  of  them  above  His  own  exalted  head.f 
If  the  stars  that  form  the  new  American  Constella- 
tion, are  simply  "mullets,"  the  rowels  of  so  many 
spurs  (!),  then  let  them  have  shanks  and  tangible 
supports,  but  if  they  are  indeed  Stars,  as  the  fathers 
of  our  country  certainly  specified,  they  need  no  other 
than  their  own  inherent  power  to  float  above  the 
Shield  and  Helmet  of  the  nation.  Thus  in  nature  do 
they  float  and  thus  above  our  Shield  and  Arms  the 
People  that  they  represent  move  on  behind  the  Pil- 
lar and  the  Cloud.  \ 

We  must  here  reiterate  and  intensify  the  fact  of 
the  complete  separation  of  the  Arms  and  Crest  upon 

*  Job  ix.  7. 

f  Rev.  xii.   i.     (Comp.  xix.  12). 

|  Exod.  xiii.  21-22;  Num.  xiv.  14. 


THE  CREST.  183 

the  Obverse  face  of  the  Seal.  They  are  two  distinct 
devices  cast  upon  the  same  field,  and  for  this  reason 
the  tincture  of  the  general  background  is  not  to  be 
confused  with  those  of  the  specific  backgrounds  of 
each,  although  they  are,  of  course,  the  same  in 
general  and  particular.  That  of  the  Crest  is  clearly 
defined — azure,  the  stars  thereon,  the  Glory  thence 
pushing  back  the  Cloud  and  breaking  through  it.  As 
a  single  device  this  Crest,  as  in  the  Seal  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Confederation,  is  complete  in  itself.  So 
are  the  Arms,  which  itemize  the  details  of  the  same 
bearings.  Hence,  although  the  statute  is  silent  as  to 
the  field  upon  which  the  Arms  themselves  are 
blazoned,  there  ought  to  be  no  doubt  that  it  is 
"  properly "  to  be  tinctured  as  blue  azure,  just  as 
specified  in  the  cognate  Crest.  The  Eagle  rises  into 
the  same  azure  vault  that  is  the  habitat  of  the  Stars, 
the  Clouds  roll  back  from  each.  Both  emblems  have 
a  blue  field,  and  the  two  emblems  are  distinct  on 
such  a  tincture. 

The  Statute  defining  the  Crest  of  the  United 
States  reads  as  follows:  "For  the  CREST:  over  the 
head  of  the  Eagle  which  appears  above  the  Escutch- 
eon, a  Glory  breaking  through  a  Cloud  proper,  and 
surrounding  thirteen  Stars,  forming  a  Constellation, 
argent,  and  on  an  azure  field." 

This  is  essentially  as  it  was  proposed  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  1779  and  1780,  from  whose  device  for  the 
Great  Seal  Mr.  Thomson  manifestly  took  it,  only 
adding  thereunto  the  Cloud  broken  by  the  Glory,  and 
specifying  the  azure  field. 


